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NEHALEM    :\100NLIGHT. 

ri)ii.vrijfliU'il   ]Oir>  by  Mayor. 


STORIES  OF  NtflflLEM 


S.  /.  COTTON 


J  •*    *  * 
•  ••>  1  • 


•  1  •  ■  • 


••  •  •  • 


«     '        .e. 


Chicago 
M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  COMPANY 


•,  •  ■*«   /   -1   ••  • 


»        •  - .   « 


»•■'••     •.'  '. 


^3  C« 

INDEX 


<l. 


PAGE. 

Introduction 5 

Nehalem  Sunsets 11 

Nehalem  Valley   13 

Indian  Legendry 19 

What  Makes  the  Ocean  Rough 20 

Marine   Hypnotism    29 

Old  Indian  God 23 

Bad  Water   31 

Old  Indian  God's  Courtship 35 

{>°"    Treasure  Ship 55 

"^     Indian  History 41 

_j      Beeswax  Ship 45 

a      Neah-Kah-Nie  Treasure 49 

''      Early  White   Settlements 63 

J^     Population  Increases 75 

^     School  Life 82 

^    Lure  of  Coal 86 

2=     High  Water 87 

Advent  of  Industry. 9  0 

Few  Early  Events 94 

Mail  Service 97 

Beginning  of  Lumber  Industry 99 

Events   of    Interest 104 

Hotels  of  the  Valley 107 

The  Fight  for  Shipping 109 

Wrecks 115 

Newspaper  Pioneering 123 

Banking    127 

Metropolitan  Days 128 

Community  Life 134 

Wheeler 135 

Other   Centers    137 

Coming  of  the  Railroad 137 

Beaches 141 

Neah-Kah-Nie  Trail 142 


CO 


-z. 


27^:  ^^-^>H 


INTRODUCTION 


To  the  Pioneer: 

Few  realize  the  importance  of  the  labor,  the 
hardships  and  the  courage  of  the  pioneers,  women  and 
men,  who  voluntarily  isolate  themselves  from  the  rest 
of  the  world  and  pave  the  way  for  civilization.  There 
is  no  tribute  man  can  pay  to  these  determined 
members  of  our  race ;  no  laurel  sufficient  with  which 
to  surround  their  memory.  Their  lives  are  spent 
in  a  world  to  which  the  applause  of  hero-worship 
has  never  come.  They  pursue  their  routine  of  life 
without  thought  of  what,  either  in  praise  or  censure, 
others  may  say.  Each  one  to  whom  the  name  can  be 
appropriately  applied  is  a  hero  or  heroine.  The  story 
of  Robinson  Crusoe,  wrecked  upon  a  desolate  island, 
is  of  no  more  interest  and  possesses  no  more  of  hard- 
ship and  privation  than  is  told  scores  of  times  in  the 
beginning  of  settlement  in  any  new  land.  Each  pio- 
neer, while  not  cast  upon  a  desolate  island,  is  so  iso- 
lated from  the  world  and  all  the  grandeur  it  possesses 
that  the  story  of  that  life  is  filled  with  heart  interest. 

The  woman  and  the  man  who  turn  their  back  upon 
civilization,  who  voluntarily  surrender  the  pleasures  of 
modern  life  for  the  dull  monotony  and  the  rigid  hard- 
ships of  pioneering,  are  as  much  deserving  of  the  med- 
als and  acclaim  of  the  multitudes  as  the  man  who  saves 
the  life  of  another.  The  journey  through  the  pathless 
forest  is  filled  with  discouragements  and  disappoint- 
ments; at  every  turn  there  are  difficulties  to  overcome. 
Place  yourself,  if  you  can,  far  from  all  civilization  in 
a  spot' surrounded  by  giant  forest  trees  in  which  the 


voice  of  man  has  never  echoed  and  with  the  resolve 
to  spend  a  lifetime  there;  place  yourself  in  this  posi- 
tion, with  no  shelter  save  only  what  nature  has  made. 
Before  you  are  years  of  usefulness,  and  years  you  know 
to  be  crowded  with  ceaseless  toil.  Your  cabin  must 
be  fashioned  by  hand  from  the  trees  about  you;  all 
the  things  to  make  life  pleasant  or  comfortable  must 
be  the  fruits  of  your  own  labor.  Your  garden  spot  is 
to  be  wrested  from  the  stumps  of  the  trees  from 
which  you  build  your  home  and  in  ground  the  sun  has 
never  kissed. 

It  is  a  position  from  which  only  the  most  courageous 
will  not  shrink  with  fear.  You  do  not  know  what  form 
of  death  may  lurk  in  the  immediate  forest.  Perhaps 
it  is  in  the  nature  of  a  weakened  tree  or  the  dead 
snag  threateningly  standing  a  short  distance  away ; 
perhaps  it  may  come  from  inhabitants  of  the  unknown 
forest.  Who  knows  but  it  may  come  from  starvation 
or  some  slight  injury? — an  injury,  which  in  the  hands 
of  a  physician  would  be  unnoticed,  but  here,  far  from 
the  possibility  of  medical  aid,  it  follows  that  law  of 
nature  no  man  has  been  able  to  repeal. 

We  cannot  but  pause  to  say  a  word  in  the  praise 
of  these  determined  women  and  men.  They  were  the 
ones  who  laid  the  foundation  for  the  ease  and  com- 
fort in  which  we  live  today.  They  blazed  the  trail 
and  showed  the  wealth  of  which  the  world  had  never 
dreamed ;  they  blazed  the  trail  over  which  the  footsteps 
of  education,  religion  and  enterprise  must  travel,  and 
they  blazed  it  in  such  a  way  that  its  course  has  never 
been  obliterated.  What  vast  difference  there  would 
have  been  in  the  appearance  of  this  country  of  ours 
today  had  it  not  been  for  the  courage  and  faith  of  those 
who  came  before  us !  The  pathway  of  civilization  has 
been  laid  out  by  the  pioneer;  it  is  not  the  man  who 
follows  those  early  footsteps  and  builds  the  railroads 

vi 


and  the  factories  to  whom  we  owe  homage,  it  is  the 
women  and  men  who  pointed  the  way. 

The  pioneers  of  the  Nehalem  Valley  were  of  the 
kind  to  which  fear  and  labor  were  meaningless.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  meaning  in  the  story  told  by 
Mrs.  Frances  G.  Scovell,  wife  of  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers  of  the  valley,  as  she  told  of  some  of  the  dis- 
couraging remarks  made  by  men  who  came  into  the 
district  along  about  1870,  and  who  subsequently  left. 
One  of  them  remarked  that  there  was  no  market  here 
for  anything  the  farmers  might  raise.  Mrs.  Scovell  re- 
plied: ''The  market  is  always  far  away  to  those  who 
have  nothing  to  sell."  Some  said  the  country  was 
God-forsaken,  but  she  replied  that  God  never  forsook 
a  country  He  had  made.  The  difficulties  encountered 
by  the  earliest  settlers  might  have  lead  the  lover  of 
ease  to  think  God  had  forsaken  the  Nehalem  Valley, 
but  today  they  will  be  willing  to  admit  that  God  cre- 
ated better  than  they  knew. 

Only  two  of  the  original  pioneers  of  the  valley  are 
residing  here  now — Mrs.  Frances  G.  Scovell,  wife  of 
Steven  K.  Scovell,  and  William  Snyder.  They  each 
came  in  the  month  of  September,  1870.  Mrs.  Scovell, 
with  her  husband  and  children,  settled  on  a  claim  on 
the  North  Fork  of  the  river.  An  interesting  story  is 
connected  with  this.  Mr.  Scovell  paid  a  visit  to  the 
valley  during  the  summer  and  selected  a  homestead. 
The  family  was  then  living  in  the  Willamette  Valley. 
Accompanied  by  his  son,  he  returned  later  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  cabin,  but  they  were  lost  in  the 
mountains  for  a  time  and,  on  reaching  here,  decided 
they  could  not  complete  the  cabin  in  time  to  move  in 
during  the  fall.  He  had  selected  a  spot  on  the  river 
bank  where  a  beautiful  knoll  commanded  a  view  of 
the  river,  and  was  especially  safe  from  the  high  water 
of  winter.     Mr.  Snyder,  the  other  of  the  remaining 

vii 


pioneers,  took  up  a  claim  at  what  is  now  Classic  Ridge. 
Among  the  other  earliest  settlers  were  George  E.  R. 
Dean,  who  brought  his  family  here  and  who  thought 
so  well  of  the  country  that  he  induced  his  father  and 
brother  Harry  to  cast  their  lot  with  the  new  country. 
Mrs.  Fred  Zaddach  (Lillian  Dean)  relates  some  inter- 
esting bits  of  history  that  add  materially  to  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  following  pages.  Mrs.  George  Dean  is 
now  a  resident  of  Aberdeen,  Washington,  but  has  not 
withdrawn  her  allegiance  to  the  beautiful  valley  in 
which  she  spent  so  many  years  of  her  life. 

The  author  is  especially  indebted  to  the  pioneers 
for  the  history  contained  in  this  volume.  It  has  been 
his  endeavor  to  make  all  events  as  authentic  as  pos- 
sible. There  have  been  differences,  sometimes  material, 
in  the  information  received  from  various  sources,  but 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  delve  into  the  true  narra- 
tive. The  early  Indian  history  and  the  stories  of  the 
Neah-Kah-Nie  Treasure  and  Beeswax  Ship  were  se- 
cured to  a  great  extent  from  Mrs.  Ed.  Gervais,  now  the 
last  of  the  older  Indians,  to  whom  this  story  was  re- 
lated by  the  native  fathers.  Her  memory  goes  back 
beyond  the  days  when  the  first  white  settlers  came  to 
the  country.  Ed.  Gervais,  her  husband,  was  a  man  of 
keen  interest  and  an  exceptional  story  teller. 

According  to  his  own  account,  he  is  responsible 
for  the  existence  of  the  Nehalem  River,  When  nature 
constructed  this  part  of  the  Oregon  coast  country,  it 
carelessly  left  out  the  means  of  irrigation.  When  Ger- 
vais first  came  here,  the  valley  was  dry  and  arid.  No 
streams  from  the  mountains  coursed  through  the  for- 
est, and  the  beautiful  Nehalem  River  was  unknown. 
He,  together  with  some  of  the  Indians  living  in  the 
valley,  decided  it  needed  irrigation.  The  nearest  stream 
or  river  of  any  importance  was  'way  up  in  the  moun- 
tains many  miles  to  the  east.    It  was  a  difficult  under- 


Vlll 


taking  to  dig  a  trench  from  the  nearest  of  these  rivers, 
but  it  offered  the  only  solution.  None  of  the  men  inter- 
ested in  the  project  were  engineers,  but  they  had  the 
determination  of  an  army.  Gervais  went  over  the 
ground  and  decided  a  canal  could  be  dug  along  the 
mountain  ridges  and  through  specially  constructed 
passes.  By  this  means  the  water  could  be  diverted  to 
the  west  slope  of  the  mountains  and  brought  down  to 
the  valley. 

If  Gervais  is  to  be  believed,  the  Nehalem  River  of 
that  date  was  flowing  in  an  opposite  direction  from 
today,  and  made  its  way  into  the  Columbia.  About 
where  the  lumber  manufacturing  place  of  Timber  is 
now  located  was  the  nearest  point  to  Nehalem  and  the 
ocean.  The  pioneer  irrigation  canal  diggers  went  to 
this  place — of  course  the  city  of  Timber  was  not  built 
then — and  began  their  Avork.  They  followed  the  course 
of  the  Salmonberry  River,  continued  on  down  the  pres- 
ent South  Fork  of  the  Nehalem,  and  terminated  the 
canal  at  the  beginning  of  the  valley.  The  scheme 
worked  remarkably  well.  The  Nehalem  River  changed 
its  course,  and  the  constant  wear  of  the  waters,  during 
the  years  that  have  followed,  resulted  in  the  succession 
of  beautiful  cascades  and  a  river  equal  to  anything 
nature  could  have  constructed  herself.  Ed.  Gervais 
was  a  wonderful  story  teller.  The  greatest  misfortune 
connected  with  the  above  story  is  that  he  is  dead  and 
cannot  verify  it. 

Much  discussion  has  arisen  over  the  question  of  the 
origin  of  some  of  the  names  of  important  objects  in 
the  valley.  That  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain  has  been 
one  of  considerable  interest,  and  there  is  some  mystery 
surrounding  the  origin  of  the  name  given  the  river  and 
valley.  Prom  Mrs.  Gervais  it  is  learned  that  the  Indian 
name  for  the  river  and  valley  was  not  Nehalem,  but 
Wa-laska.     How  the  name  Nehalem  originated  is  not 

ix 


known,  unless  it  comes  to  us  from  the  Spanish  left 
here  by  those  who  came  with  the  treasure  and  beeswax 
ship.  The  Neah  or  Ne  seems  to  have  been  the  prefix 
for  several  names  along  the  North  Pacific  coast,  but  its 
origin  does  not  seem  to  be  native. 

Mrs.  Gervais  gives  the  Indian  name  for  the  moun- 
tain as  Se-a-kah-no.  That  of  Carney  or  Necarney,  ap- 
plied by  many,  comes  from  the  Spanish  word  carne, 
meaning  meat  or  flesh.  She  says  her  people  secured  it 
from  the  Spaniards  wrecked  here  at  the  time  of  the 
treasure  ship.  The  men  pointed  to  the  elk  grazing  on 
the  mountain  side  and  called  them  carne.  It  was 
adopted  by  the  Indians  as  a  name  for  the  mountain. 
The  prefix  Ne  does  not  seem  to  be  Spanish  unless  it  is 
a  contraction  or  misinterpretation  of  some  prefix  or 
word  of  that  language  and  left  here  by  the  wrecked 
sailors, 

Sam  J.  Cotton. 

Nehalem,  Ore.,  March,  1915. 


Stories  of  Nehalem 

with 

Neah-Kah-Nie  Treasure  and  Beeswax  Ship 


Nehalem  Sunsets. 

Had  I  the  power  to  paint  a  typical  Nehalem  sunset 
on  canvas  or  by  word  I  would  spend  my  life  beside  the 
peaceful  summer  waters  of  the  bay  or  ocean,  and  give 
to  the  world  some  of  the  grandest  pictures  man  ever 
beheld.  There  are  those  who  rave  over  an  Italian  sun- 
set, but  no  clouds  of  evening  were  ever  kissed  with 
such  tenderness  of  color  and  design  as  those  fringing 
the  horizon  westward  of  this  bay.  One  can  stand  for 
hours  gazing  in  wonder  and  admiration  at  the  never 
ending  succession  of  beautiful  plays  of  the  evening  sun 
upon  the  clouds.  This  panorama  of  beauty  and  delight 
lasts  for  hours,  from  late  in  the  afternoon  until  the 
sun  has  gone  far  down  over  the  ocean,  leaving  a  last 
faint  streak  of  red  upon  the  lower  edge  of  the  tent  of 
night. 

It  may  be  that  nature  has  purposely  assembled  its 
magic  mirror  of  clouds  here  on  the  western  sky  that 
the  sun  may  deck  them  with  gold  and  silver.  It  may 
be  that  some  fairy  has  drawn  this  wonderful  curtain 
as  the  last  symbol  of  her  favor  to  lull  the  beings  of 

11 


12  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

this  valley  to  sleep  by  the  sweet  music  of  enchanting 
loveliness.  Now  the  sun  disappears  behind  a  bank  of 
clouds,  casting  its  rays  from  every  edge  in  a  halo  of 
golden  light;  then  it  gradually  glides  farther  to  one 
side,  extending  the  delicate  tinges  from  one  cloud  to 
another,  reaching  out  with  fingers  of  gold  to  paint  new 
beauties,  and,  at  last,  it  peeks  out  from  an  edge  of 
fiery  brightness,  slowly  appearing  to  smile  as  at  the 
trick  it  has  played  with  the  color  scheme  which  only 
the  sun  can  play ;  smiles  down  upon  the  waters  in  a 
flood  of  matchless  light,  kissing  the  surface  of  the 
ocean  off  in  the  distance,  and  wending  its  way  in  a 
silvery  path  to  meet  the  shore. 

Sometimes,  when  the  sun  has  gone  far  down  beyond 
the  rim  of  water,  one  golden  ray  streaks  back,  as 
though  forgetting  something,  to  caress  a  lower  cloud 
with  a  good-night  kiss.  The  cloud  reflects  this  depart- 
ing ray  over  the  ocean  in  greeting  to  the  coming  night. 
Gradually  the  silvery  path  across  the  water  recedes 
until  only  a  faint  gleam  remains  where  the  sun  has 
gone  down,  then  the  veil  of  night  settles  upon  the 
ocean  and  nature  rests. 

No  more  inspiring  sight  can  be  presented  than  when 
the  sun  nestles  down  behind  some  distant  peak,  its 
face  hidden  from  view,  but  its  glow  brightening,  in  a 
golden  arc,  like  some  great  forest  fire,  its  rays  reach- 
ing high  among  the  clouds  tinting  their  under  surface, 
while  above  the  darker  shades  are  made  blacker  and, 
occasionally,  a  ray  strays  up  to  penetrate  the  thinner 
parts  of  the  cloud.  As  the  body  of  the  cloud  changes, 
the  lightness  and  darkness  alternate  in  fantastic  forms. 

The  strange  and  wonderful  varieties  of  the  shapes 
and  the  magnificent  plays  of  the  setting  sun  upon  the 
surfaces  combine  to  make  a  picture  so  rare  and  so 
alluring  that  description  is  impossible.  These  are  pic- 
tures found  nowhere  else  in  the  world;  pictures  so 


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0^ 


NEHALEM     SUNSETS  13 

grand  and  inspiring  that  time  will  never  efface  them 
from  the  memory  of  those  who  behold  them.  Travelers 
from  the  land  of  magnificent  sunsets  say  there  are  none 
equal  to  those  along  the  Nehalem  Bay  and  Beach.  The 
famed  Italian  sunsets  pale  into  objects  easy  of  de- 
scription in  comparison  with  these.  They  are  but  an- 
other example  of  what  nature  has  done  to  make  Ne- 
halem Valley  and  its  setting  one  of  the  grandest  of 
earth. 


Nehalem  Valley. 


Nature  has  placed  the  richest  jewels  in  rough  and 
most  common  settings.  About  the  diamond  she  has 
constructed  a  formation  so  ordinary  and  uninviting 
that  only  the  expert  is  able  to  recognize  the  cradle  of 
this  rarest  of  all  gems.  The  same  condition  surrounds 
this  gem  of  all  valleys,  although  we  cannot  say  the 
mountain  walls  are  uninviting  or  that  the  Pacific  fails 
to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene.  The  lover  of  moun- 
tain scenery  finds  delight  in  the  unsurpassed  grandeur 
of  Neah-Kah-Nie  and  the  range  of  mountain  peaks 
forming  a  wonderful  panorama  which  surrounds  the 
valley  on  three  sides.  Nehalem  Valley  is  a  gem  of  the 
rarest  kind.  Perhaps  no  spot  can  boast  of  so  many 
and  so  diversified  wonders.  Not  only  for  the  excep- 
tional climatic  conditions  and  rich  grazing  grounds, 
making  it  one  of  the  finest  dairy  districts  in  the  world, 
but  because  of  the  delights  it  offers  the  lover  of  sports 
of  all  kinds. 

PYom  the  earliest  date  of  its  history  the  valley  has 
been  a  paradise  for  the  cattle  raiser.  The  seasons  are 
exceptionally  mild ;  the  summers  cool  and  the  winters 
HO  mild  that  cattle  pasture  the  year  round,  and  only 


14  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

on  rare  occasions  is  it  necessary  to  feed  them.  The 
valley  and  the  mountain  slopes  offer  limitless  grazing 
fields  for  thousands  of  cattle,  and  the  climate  so  modi- 
fies the  surroundings  that  it  has  become  famous  for 
the  richness  and  excellence  of  the  cheese  made  here. 
Two  cheese  factories  are  operated  in  the  valley,  and 
they  are  able  to  care  for  the  present  production  of  milk, 
but  there  is  room  for  many  thousand  more  cattle  here 
and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  growth  of  the 
herds  will  require  more  factories  for  the  handling  of 
the  products  of  the  farms.  From  the  beginning,  cheese 
has  been  the  natural  product  of  the  district  because 
of  the  inability  to  ship  any  other  product  to  the  mar- 
kets until  the  railroad  was  constructed  from  Hillsboro, 
and  this  product  could  be  stored  until  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  ship  it  was  offered.  For  this  reason, 
cheese  is  the  natural  output  of  the  entire  Tillamook 
County  and  one  that  has  made  it  famous  throughout 
the  world. 

But  Nehalem  Valley  does  not  depend  entirely  upon 
the  products  of  the  farms  for  its  fame  and  inviting 
qualities.  No  finer  or  more  beautiful  beaches  are  to 
be  found  anywhere  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Nature,  after 
practicing  from  time  unknown,  made  Neah-Kah-Nie 
and  the  beach  that  stretches  for  five  miles  from  its 
base  to  the  Nehalem  River.  After  the  architect  of 
Nature  had  tried  and  experimented  everywhere  else, 
he  decided  at  last  to  make  the  supremacy  of  his  handi- 
work, and  the  Nehalem  beach  is  the  result.  No  one 
can  truly  describe  this  rare  scene.  Poets  have  at- 
tempted it  and  thousands  of  verses  have  resulted,  but 
none  have  yet  approached  the  rhyming  and  description 
that  satisfies  the  hearts  of  those  who  behold  the  place. 
The  mountain  rises  about  1,900  feet  from  the  ocean. 
A  high  and  precipitous  cliff"  faces  the  Pacific  in  sun- 
shine and  in  storm.    The  mountain  itself  is  very  steep 


NEHALEM    VALLEY  15 

and  only  the  most  enterprising  have  made  the  trip  to 
the  top,  but  all  the  weary  and  tiresome  steps  are  more 
than  repaid  by  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  on  all  sides. 
One  can  look  for  many  miles  out  to  sea,  but  this  is  only 
one  of  the  minor  pictures  in  this  moving  picture  of 
beauty. 

To  the  north  the  grand  stretch  of  beaches,  nearly 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  may  be  seen;  to 
the  south  is  another  stretch  of  beaches  and  rugged 
coast  line  for  twenty  miles  or  more,  to  where  the  pre- 
cipitous mountain  makes  its  way  out  into  the  waters 
and  marks  the  southern  boundary  of  Tillamook  County. 
But,  grand  as  these  scenes  are,  they  are  surpassed  by 
the  other  scenes  as  one  turns  to  look  over  the  low 
mountain  ranges  and  across  to  the  majestic  peaks  to 
the  east.  The  first  is  Onion  Peak,  which  stands  as  a 
grand  sentinel  at  the  doorway  through  which  the 
North  Fork  of  the  Nehalem  River  enters  the  valley. 
Farther  on  is  Steamboat  Peak,  a  strange  and  wonderful 
formation,  looming  up  on  the  eastern  horizon.  Then, 
spreading  out  at  your  feet  is  Nehalem  Valley,  with  the 
beautiful  maze  of  forests  as  a  setting  for  this  gem  of 
opportunity  for  the  homeseeker  and  for  enterprise. 
Anyone  who  loves  the  experience  of  mountain  climbing 
will  find  plenty  of  opportunity  for  this  sport  in  the 
peaks  surrounding  the  valley  and  setting  it  off  like  the 
spires  of  a  Christian  city. 

The  lover  of  nature  will  find  more  to  love  in  this 
valley  than  in  any  other  spot  on  earth.  About  two 
miles  above  the  City  of  Nehalora,  the  river  forks.  One 
branch  turns  to  the  northward,  piercing  the  mountain 
range  far  up  in  the  Clatsop  County  district.  The  other 
leads  onward  toward  the  east  and  finds  its  head  far  up 
toward  the  summit  of  the  Coast  Range  of  mountains. 
Into  each  of  these  forks  hundreds  of  streams  and  rivu- 
lets enter,  each  adding  its  mite  to  the  gradually  in- 


16  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

creasing  flow  and,  more  important  to  the  lover  of 
nature  and  of  sport,  these  streams  are  alive  with  trout 
the  year  round.  The  South  Pork,  the  one  leading  off 
into  the  Coast  Range,  had  been  the  lodestone,  drawing 
hundreds  of  fishermen  from  across  the  mountains  each 
season,  but  few  have  tested  the  delights  of  the  North 
Fork  area.  Not  only  are  these  streams  and  rivers  well 
stocked  with  trout,  but,  during  the  fall,  thousands  of 
salmon  trout  are  caught  from  them.  But  the  supreme 
sport  of  all  to  the  fisherman  is  the  opportunity  for 
trolling  for  big  salmon  during  the  late  summer  and  fall 
each  year.  The  Nehalem  River  for  three  miles  along 
the  Nehalem  City  front  affords  one  of  the  best  trolling 
grounds  on  the  continent.  Experts,  who  have  tested 
all  those  offered  by  other  sections  of  the  country,  are 
enthusiastic  in  declaring  that  it  is  more  sport  to  land 
one  of  the  big  fellows  than  any  form  of  gaming.  It 
is  a  particular  and  scientific  job  to  land  a  thirty  or 
thirty-five  pound  salmon  with  a  hook  and  line.  The 
fish  are  game  to  the  last  struggle  and  refuse  to  be 
hurried  in  the  least. 

Added  to  all  these  is  the  other  pleasure  of  deep  sea 
fishing.  Off  the  Tillamook  County  coast  is  an  excep- 
tionally fine  halibut  bank,  and  boats  frequently  make 
the  trip  out  over  the  bar  and  to  the  banks  twenty 
miles  away.  During  the  calm  summer  season  the  trip 
is  delightful  and  the  fun  of  hooking  a  good-sized  hali* 
but  amply  repays  one  for  the  time  spent. 

But  it  is  not  all  fishing.  Back  in  the  foothills  and 
in  the  mountains  are  bear,  deer,  cougar  and  wildcat 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  most  exacting  hunter. 
The  God's  Valley  district,  a  part  of  the  Nehalem  Val- 
ley, is  fast  becoming  the  Mecca  of  hunters.  Each  year 
an  added  number  of  these  sportsmen  visit  the  valley 
and  return  with  plenty  of  evidence  of  their  skill  and 
the  advantages  of  the  place  as  a  hunting  delight. 


NEHALEM    VALLEY  17 

Nehalem  Valley  is  not  a  district  of  distances.  In 
this  one  particular  it  is  alone.  As  an  illustration:  the 
family  will  find  the  beautiful  beach  just  the  place  for 
the  summer  cottage,  with  the  charms  of  beach  life. 
The  women  folks  can  devote  their  time  to  enjoying  the 
sea  and  trips  to  Neah-Kah-Nie,  while  father  and  the 
boys  hike  a  few  miles  out  to  the  trout  streams  and  hunt- 
ing grounds  for  a  day  of  sport.  It  does  not  take  all 
day  to  get  to  a  trout  creek  from  the  beach.  A  short 
spin  in  the  auto  over  the  beautiful  roads  built  for  auto- 
mobile drives,  or  a  walk  brings  the  sportsman  to  the 
spot  he  desires,  and  father  and  the  boys  need  have  no 
fear  of  spending  the  day  without  results,  for  there  are 
plenty  of  fish  for  all.  The  North  Fork  district  has 
just  come  to  the  attention  of  the  fishermen,  and  it  is 
the  easiest  of  all  to  reach  by  auto  or  on  foot. 

The  lover  of  romance  will  be  at  home  at  Neah-Kah- 
Nie,  for  surrounding  the  mountain  and  the  beach  are 
woven  some  of  the  mystic  stories  that  refuse  to  be 
solved.  The  story  of  the  buried  treasure  and  that  of 
the  beeswax  ship,  related  in  following  chapters,  are 
extremely  interesting  and,  the  best  of  all  about  them, 
is  they  may  always  remain  as  mysteries.  The  belief  in 
the  buried  treasure  is  so  strong  and  persistent  that 
many  have  dug  at  various  places  on  the  mountain  side 
and  near  the  beach,  and  many  more  will  dig  before 
the  mystery  finally  comes  to  rest.  The  stories  of  early 
wrecks  upon  this  beach  are  extremely  interesting,  and 
during  the  past  few  years  some  staunch  vessels  have 
found  a  grave  on  this  shore  of  the  Pacific. 

Pioneer  life  presented  much  of  interest  and  was 
more  than  typical  of  the  hardships  offered  to  those  who 
first  made  a  home  in  the  wilderness.  The  barrier  of 
mountains  shutting  the  beautiful  valley  in  on  three 
sides,  and  the  Pacific  on  the  fourth,  made  communica- 
tion with  the  outside  world  very  difficult.    The  ocean 


18  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

was  not  always  true  to  its  name.  Lashed  by  the  severe 
storms  that  sweep  the  coast,  it  presented  no  peaceful 
aspect  to  the  mariner  or  adventurer.  Frequently  dur- 
ing the  winter  the  rough  seas  prevent  vessels  from 
entering  the  treacherous,  bar-bound  harbors,  and 
months  passed  without  the  earliest  settlers  having  pro- 
visions. 

With  the  advent  of  the  railroad  several  new  cities 
have  come  into  existence.  Nehalem  was  the  original 
trading  center  of  the  district,  and  remains  a  leading 
factor  in  the  industrial  growth.  But  the  railroad 
brought  others,  until  now  Mohler,  Wheeler  and 
Brighton  are  the  other  industrial  centers  of  the  valley. 
The  vast  forests  covering  the  mountain  slopes  for  miles 
on  either  side  are  among  the  greatest  bodies  of  virgin 
timber  in  the  country.  There  are  more  than  twenty- 
five  billion  feet  of  merchantable  timber,  offering  em- 
ployment to  hundreds  of  men  for  a  century  yet  to 
come.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  immensity  of  this  body 
of  wealth,  it  might  be  well  to  consider  that  the  mills 
in  the  valley  will  cut  about  150,000  feet  of  lumber  each 
day,  and  to  cut  the  timber  now  standing  here  will 
require  the  service  of  seventeen  mills,  with  equal  ca- 
pacities of  the  present  mills,  and  they  will  be  forced 
to  run  for  forty  years  before  the  task  is  completed. 
When  one  figures  this  immense  wealth,  he  can  readily 
see  that  there  is  a  future  for  this  valley  in  the  lumber 
manufacturing  line  that  is  unsurpassed  anywhere. 

The  salmon  fishing  of  the  Nehalem  River  is  an- 
other source  of  wealth  that  was  one  of  the  first  indus- 
tries developed.  The  first  enterprise  entering  the  val- 
ley came  as  a  result  of  this  wealth  in  the  waters  of 
the  river.  Each  fall  thousands  of  these  fine  fish  are 
caught,  and  either  canned  or  salted  for  shipment  to 
the  markets  of  the  world.  The  season  begins  about 
the  first  of  August  and  does  not  end  until  after  New 


NEHALEM     VALLEY  19 

Year's.  Four  different  kinds  of  salmon  are  found  at 
the  different  intervals  during  the  fishing  season.  First 
comes  the  Chinook,  then  follow  the  Silverside,  Chum 
and  Steelhead,  the  latter  being  a  hardy  fish,  but  rare 
in  numbers.  The  extent  of  this  wealth  never  dimin- 
ishes, in  spite  of  the  number  of  men  employed  in  catch- 
ing them  and  the  immense  quantities  taken  each  year. 


Indian  Legendry. 

No  story  can  be  complete  without  those  mystic 
tales  of  events  long  before  true  history  was  recorded, 
and  the  story  of  the  Nehalem  Valley  fails  in  its  pur- 
pose unless  it  contains  the  record  of  happenings  from 
which  it  has  derived  many  of  its  interesting  features. 
The  earliest  white  settlers  found  the  native  residents 
peaceful  and  indulgently  pursuing  their  way  of  life ; 
living  in  that  simplicity  that  marks  the  beginning  of 
enlightenment.  The  Indian  was  honest  in  purpose, 
simple  in  beliefs  and  customs,  welcoming  the  stranger 
as  one  whose  desires  were  the  same  as  their  own. 
While  the  native  population  of  the  Nehalem  River  dis- 
trict was  never  large,  it  was  a  commingling  of  the 
tribes  from  the  north  and  the  south — the  Clatsops  and 
Tillamooks — and  the  histories  of  these  tribes  are 
closely  associated  with  that  of  the  Nehalems.  Their 
legends  are  linked  as  was  their  life.  The  great  ocean 
offered,  in  the  calm  of  summer,  a  playground  for  all 
these  children  of  the  same  God,  and  woven  around  the 
grand  old  mountain  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  and  the  surround- 
ing district  are  many  stories  common  to  all. 

In  relating  these  strange  stories  there  is  a  feeling 
of  admiration  for  the  inventive  minds  that  first  brought 


20  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

to  life  some  of  the  wonderful  tales  they  relate.  There 
must  have  been,  in  those  crude  and  ancient  days,  minds 
like  that  of  a  Washington  Irving  to  supply  to  its  peo- 
ple and  preserve  to  this  day  some  of  the  strange  hap- 
penings and  adventures  of  the  days  long  before  the 
white  race  first  penetrated  the  almost  impassable  for- 
ests and  found  a  home  here.  But  the  Indian  mind 
was  working,  and  their  children  of  today  tell  us  of 
their  legends.  The  Nehalem  Valley  historian  is  fortu- 
nate in  having  the  privilege  of  securing  this  informa- 
tion at  first  hand,  in  listening  to  these  stories  from  one 
who  heard  them  from  her  fathers  before  the  white  set- 
tler came  in  and  added  his  embellishments.  The  stories 
here  related  were  secured  from  Mrs.  Ed.  Gervais,  her- 
self nearly  a  century  old,  who  brings  them  down  to  us 
from  the  campfires  of  her  father's  home. 


What  Makes  the  Ocean  Rough. 

Old  Indian  God  was  prominent  in  the  Nehalem 
Country  in  the  days  far  removed  from  the  time  and 
memory  of  the  last  native  resident,  but  his  doings  are 
indelibly  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  every  Indian 
from  the  impressiveness  of  their  telling  as  the  family 
was  gathered  at  the  evening  campfire  of  long  ago. 
Like  the  child  playing  about  the  hearthstone  of  the 
white  family,  the  Indian  child,  active  in  mind  and 
body  from  plenty  of  exercise  in  the  pure  air  and  unin- 
cumbered with  dolls  and  playthings,  sought  some  story 
from  the  father  or  mother  to  pass  away  the  long  even- 
ings. And  the  fathers  of  those  native  days  were  not 
so  completely  enslaved  to  clubs  and  other  affairs  that 
they  could  not  devote  a  few  hours  to  indulging  the 
slowly  developing  mind  of  the  child  by  relating  the 


I 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  OCEAN  ROUGH      21 

romantic  stories  they  had  received  from  their  fathers. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  are  privileged  to  learn  of 
much  of  the  traditional  life,  fresh  from  the  telling,  of 
those  who  took  part  in  it  or  from  those  who  received  it 
themselves  at  first  hand  from  the  first  relator. 

No  white  child  has  been  able  to  learn  from  the 
parent  how  the  ocean  happens  to  be  rough.  He  is 
obliged  to  await  the  time  in  life  when  a  sufficient  ad- 
vancement has  been  made  in  school  work  to  study  it  all 
out  with  the  aid  of  a  teacher.  But  the  Indian  boy  and 
girl  learned  the  cause  of  this  wonderful  phenomenon 
from  a  parent,  and  this  is  what  the  native  child  learned 
to  be  the  cause  of  all  the  unrest  along  the  ocean  front : 

There  is  no  knowing  when  Old  Indian  God  first 
made  his  appearance  in  these  parts,  and  the  time  is 
not  necessary,  but  one  day  he  was  taking  a  stroll 
along  the  beach  at  the  foot  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Moun- 
tain. Some  boys  were  bathing  in  the  water.  At  this 
time  the  ocean  was  as  calm  as  a  mill  pond.  Not  a 
ripple  broke  the  surface  of  the  Pacific.  It  had  been 
that  way  ever  since  the  Indians  could  remember.  Occa- 
sionally a  summer  breeze  ruffled  the  surface,  but  the 
breakers  of  today  were  unknown.  The  boys  disported 
themselves  in  the  water  for  some  time,  watched  by  the 
God.  Either  the  comfort  derived  from  the  pleasure 
angered  the  God,  or  it  may  be  he  thought  the  sport 
very  tame  in  such  quiet  water,  but  he  made  a  vow 
that  the  ocean  should  never  be  calm  again.  He  went 
down  to  where  the  boys  were  playing  and  told  them 
the  ocean  would  soon  be  rough,  and  big  breakers 
should  lash  the  shore.  They  would  not  again  have  the 
privilege  of  swimming  and  disporting  themselves  in  the 
calm  ocean.    All  would  be  changed. 

The  God  then  made  his  way  up  the  side  of  the 
mountain  until  he  reached  Treasure  Cove.  Up  looked 
out  over  the  calm  waters  and  was  impressed  by  the 


22  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

silent  monotony.  He  decided  to  make  the  water  rough 
and  the  sea  turbulent.  Gathering  a  great  mass  of 
wood,  he  built  a  fire  on  the  slope  overlooking  the  Cove. 
It  was  a  tremendous  fire.  The  flames  leaped  high  in 
the  air  and  heated  the  rocks  around.  When  the  coals 
had  formed  in  sufficient  heaps,  he  tore  rocks  from  the 
side  of  the  mountain  and  placed  them  on  the  embers 
to  heat.  As  a  result  of  his  Titanic  work  a  broad  de- 
pression on  the  west  side  of  the  mountain  can  be  seen. 
The  boys  watched  the  work  of  the  God  with  fear  and 
trembling,  and  Indians  from  miles  around  saw  the 
great  fire  and  wondered.  The  news  spread  throughout 
the  country  that  the  God  was  angered  at  something 
and  he  was  preparing  to  make  the  ocean  rough.  No 
one  dared  approach  the  spot,  and  the  boys,  soon 
frightened  out  of  their  wits,  ran  to  their  homes  and 
told  their  parents  what  the  God  had  said  to  them. 

The  God  worked  upon  the  ledge  forming  the  moun- 
tain side,  and  piled  the  rocks  high  around  the  red  hot 
embers.  The  high  cliff  overlooking  the  ocean  was  an 
ideal  place  for  the  undertaking  the  God  had  planned. 
Precipitous  walls  of  rock  frowned  upon  the  waters 
and,  so  awe  inspiring  were  they,  that  the  bravest  among 
the  Indians  had  always  approached  it  with  fear.  But 
the  God  had  no  such  feeling.  The  place  just  suited 
him  and  the  purpose  of  his  work.  As  soon  as  the  rocks 
had  become  red  hot  from  the  tremendous  fire,  he  rolled 
them  to  the  brow  of  the  cliff  and  dumped  them  into 
the  ocean.  A  boiling  was  immediately  started  and  a 
tremendous  roar  of  hissing  steam.  Faster  and  faster 
he  worked  until  every  rock  had  been  dumped  into  the 
ocean  and  the  water  was  boiling  all  around.  It  lashed 
the  foot  of  the  cliff  and  extended  its  incessant  beating 
all  along  the  shore  in  both  directions.  Gradually  the 
uneasiness  and  tumult,  caused  by  the  heated  rocks, 
widened  in  wonderful  circles  until  the  whole  ocean,  as 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  OCEAN  ROUGH      23 

far  as  could  be  seen,  was  pitching  and  tossing  in  wild 
confusion.    The  God  was  pleased  at  his  handiwork. 

At  first,  the  new  sound  from  the  ocean — the  con- 
stant roaring  upon  the  shore — caused  fear  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Indians  dwelling  there,  but  they  were  soon 
assured  by  the  God  that  it  meant  no  danger  to  them. 
It  was  a  barrier  to  protect  them  from  those  who  might 
venture  upon  the  great  ocean  and  come  to  their  land. 
And  thus  it  has  continued  from  that  day.  The  tireless 
waters  beat  upon  the  rocks,  sometimes  in  murmurs 
during  the  calm  days  of  summer,  and  lashing  the  shore 
in  fury  when  the  God  had  cast  more  fiery  rocks  into 
its  bosom. 


Old  Indian  God. 


Old  Indian  God  was  a  being  of  wonderful  strength 
and  ability,  but  in  many  ways  was  just  like  the  people 
inhabiting  the  world  at  that  time.  He  was  all  power- 
ful, and  no  deed  was  too  great  for  him  to  perform.  He 
dwelt  among  his  people,  and  did  many  things  for  them 
and  assisted  them  in  their  work,  lie  was  not  an  ex- 
clusive God.  He  loved  and  labored  for  his  people  with 
all  the  diligence  of  one  who  sought  to  improve  those 
entrusted  to  his  care.  Tribes  throughout  the  country 
were  frequently  visited  by  him  and,  if  things  were  not 
running  to  suit  him,  he  corrected  them.  Sometimes  his 
people  were  discontented;  he  made  all  right.  Some- 
times they  needed  chastisement ;  they  got  it  from  him 
to  the  limit.  But,  as  a  general  rule,  this  supreme  being 
tried  to  make  life  easy  and  happy  for  everyone.  He 
spent  his  life,  from  birth,  among  those  wliom  he  influ- 
enced by  his  limitless  powers,  and  was  really  one  among 
them,  except  that  he  was  a  God  and  was  more  of  a  die- 


24  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

tator  than  a  playfellow.  And  he  was  a  playful  mem- 
ber of  the  race,  if  the  stories  handed  down  by  the 
natives  who  came  in  contact  with  him  can  be  believed. 
He  was  as  human  as  the  most  human  of  them,  and  had 
no  objection  to  either  playing  a  prank  or  having  one 
played  upon  him. 

He  was  born  on  the  north  shore  of  Tillamook  Bay. 
A  rough  sandstone  point,  making  its  way  out  into  the 
bay,  was  the  cradle  in  which  he  was  rocked.  Here 
the  God's  mother  lived  in  the  days  long  before  people 
came  to  this  country,  and  here  was  the  realm  sacred 
to  every  native  from  the  days  long  before  the  fathers 
of  the  last  tribes  can  remember.  In  the  day  of  the 
birth  of  the  God,  the  country  around  was  somewhat 
different  from  the  present.  The  great  ocean  glistened 
in  the  sun  in  quiet  peacefulness,  the  broad  stretch  of 
country  to  the  east  was  broken  only  by  gradual  slopes: 
it  was  all  a  paradise  in  which  gods  could  disport  them- 
selves. The  steep  dividing  line  between  the  coast  dis- 
trict and  the  valley  country  to  the  east  was  just  as 
sharp  and  well  defined  as  at  present,  but  the  slope  to 
the  crest  of  the  mountains  was  more  gradual  until 
the  base  of  the  incline  had  been  reached.  The  Tilla- 
mook district — that  included  in  the  great  sweep  of 
rich  and  fertile  country  from  the  Columbia  River  to 
far  beyond  where  the  Nestucca  enters  the  ocean — was 
broad  in  fertile  acres,  and  here  the  children  of  the  gods 
later  found  a  rich  harvest  field. 

But  the  sacred  spot  of  the  Indian  was  on  the  barren 
point  of  rock  jutting  out  into  the  bay  and  facing  the 
severe  storms  of  winter.  Here  was  the  cradle,  and  here 
the  Indian  fathers  and  mothers  met  to  gaze  in  awe 
and  admiration.  No  one  dared  invade  this  place,  and 
natives  passing  the  point  turned  aside  to  show  their 
reverence  to  the  one  who  was  their  God.  Until  the 
white  man  invaded  the  place  and  built  a  railroad  along 


OLD    INDIAN    GOD  25 

the  shore  of  the  bay,  the  cradle  could  be  seen,  and  was 
frequently  visited  by  the  natives  of  this  district. 
When  the  Pacific  Railroad  &  Navigation  Company 
built  its  road  around  what  is  known  as  Larson's  Point 
the  workmen  unceremoniously  buried  the  cradle  under 
a  heavy  blast  and  it  is  lost  forever  to  the  Indians,  who 
looked  upon  it  with  religious  reverence. 

Here  Old  Indian  God  was  born  and  cradled.  Here 
he  spent  his  childhood  and  learned  of  the  things  his 
people  would  desire.  But  he  was  not  different  from  the 
boys  and  girls  of  the  race  to  which  he  belonged.  He 
played  the  same  games  the  children  played.  It  was  he 
who  invented  these  sports  and  gave  them  to  his  young 
companions.  From  his  boyhood  to  the  time  when  he 
began  to  explore  the  country  over  which  he  ruled  there 
is  little  recorded.  But  in  later  life  it  is  known  that 
he  traveled  extensively  among  the  natives  of  the 
country. 

One  place  held  sacred  by  the  Indians  dwelling  in 
the  Nehalem  district  is  that  located  on  the  Scovell 
homestead  on  the  North  Fork  of  the  river,  where  the 
God  left  a  footprint  as  a  memorial  of  his  visit.  This 
spot  is  still  in  existence,  and  is  indicated  by  the  last  of 
the  natives  as  one  evidence  of  a  visit  here  by  the  favor- 
ite of  the  Indians.  Mrs.  Gervais  tells  of  the  awe  and 
respect  in  which  this  spot  was  held  by  the  older  In- 
dians. Whenever  she  visited  it  in  company  with  any 
of  them,  they  forcefully  impressed  her  with  the  fact 
that  she  should  not  trespass  upon  the  ground  for  fear 
of  creating  an  enmity  toward  them  in  the  breast  of 
their  God.  No  one  dared  approach  the  place  too  closely 
and,  in  the  memory  of  the  members  of  the  local  tribes, 
no  one  had  ever  trod  upon  the  spot. 

But  this  was  only  one  of  the  many  visits  the  Old 
Indian  God  paid  to  this  district.  Tiie  legends  of  the 
people  show  that  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  here.   Per- 


26  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

haps  there  can  be  no  better  illustration  of  the  action 
and  the  power  of  the  God  than  to  relate  one  trip  he 
made  from  the  place  of  his  birth  in  the  Nehalem  coun- 
try. All  the  incidents  to  be  recorded  in  the  following 
pages  are  illustrative  of  a  journey  of  this  God  through 
the  land  of  his  people,  and  were  related  by  the  last  of 
the  Indians  to  be  born  in  this  district  before  the  white 
visitor  came  to  taint  these  records  with  the  inventive 
genius  of  his  kind.  As  far  as  native  records  can  be 
considered  reliable,  this  trip  is  truthful  as  regards  the 
events  related. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  the  woodpecker, 
the  God  would  not  have  been  able  to  reach  the  land 
of  the  Nehalem  tribe.  Old  Indian  God  was  just  like 
the  rest  of  us.  He  loved  sport.  He  saw  some  young 
people  playing  in  the  water  and  stopped  a  while  to 
join  in  the  fun.  Of  course,  the  ocean  was  not  rough  at 
this  time,  and  no  breakers  enhanced  the  pleasure  of 
bathing,  but  the  God  and  his  young  companions  en- 
joyed some  time  in  the  sunlit  waters.  Finally  the  God 
was  chilled  by  the  cold  of  the  water  and  could  stand 
it  no  longer.  He  went  upon  the  beach  to  rest  in  the 
sun  and  to  permit  its  rays  to  warm  him,  but  he  was 
chilled  to  the  bone  and  the  cold  did  not  leave.  There 
was  no  fire  on  the  shore,  and  nothing  with  which  to 
build  one,  and  the  God  made  a  wish  that  a  wall  of 
rock  should  be  formed  about  him  to  break  off  the 
chill  winds.  Presently  the  God  fell  asleep  and  rested 
for  hours.  At  last,  he  awoke  with  a  feeling  of  suffoca- 
tion. He  was  too  warm,  for  some  reason,  and  it  was 
not  until  he  fully  aroused  himself  that  he  found  the 
cause.  His  wish  had  been  granted,  but  to  a  greater 
extent  than  he  had  planned. 

The  spirit  performing  the  job  of  building  a  wall 
about  the  God  had  overdone  the  operation,  and  the  un- 
fortunate found  himself  completely  surrounded  with  a 


OLDINDIANGOD  27 

mass  of  rock  he  could  not  move.  Not  only  this,  but 
the  top  was  covered.  The  God  was  enclosed  in  a  vault 
of  rock,  and  there  was  no  means  by  which  he  could 
escape.  Learning  the  predicament  resulting  from  his 
wish,  he  began  to  cry  for  help  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 
The  birds  of  the  surrounding  section  came  at  the  sound 
of  his  voice  to  learn  the  trouble.  None  could  assist 
the  unfortunate  God  from  his  situation  except  the 
woodpecker.  Miss  Woodpecker  had  a  long  sharp  bill 
and,  on  solicitation  of  the  other  birds,  began  pecking 
on  the  wall  to  liberate  the  God.  It  was  a  difficult 
undertaking,  but  she  worked  industriously.  A  small 
opening  was  finally  made  in  the  rock  wall  and  the  God 
could  see  the  sunlight  again.  At  last,  the  hole  was 
large  enough  for  the  God  to  protrude  his  head. 

The  God  was  just  as  human  and  natural  as  the  rest 
of  us.  Miss  Woodpecker  was  a  beautiful  creature,  and 
her  beauty  attracted  the  God.  He  resolved  to  show  his 
appreciation  to  his  fair  liberator  by  playing  sometime 
with  her  upon  the  beach.  Miss  Woodpecker  was  a  shy 
creature  and,  for  some  reason,  did  not  like  the  God. 
On  discovering  his  intention,  she  decided  the  easiest 
way  of  disposing  of  an  objectionable  companion  was 
to  keep  him  in  the  vault,  and  refused  to  continue  the 
work.  The  God  begged  and  pleaded ;  he  promised  that 
he  meant  no  ham,  but  the  beautiful  bird  refused  to 
believe  him  and  flew  away  to  a  near-by  rock. 

That  certainly  was  a  predicament  for  a  God  to  be 
in.  He  could  see  out  to  the  world  and  its  sunlight; 
he  could  see  the  birds  flitting  about  and  the  beautiful 
Miss  Woodpecker,  whose  loveliness  had  caused  him 
to  occupy  this  new  position.  He  could  see  the  ocean, 
and  discovered  the  -question  of  food  was  one  soon  to 
be  confronting  him.  Something  must  be  done,  and 
the  girl  who  bad  pai^tially  freed  him  now  refused  to 


28  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

assist  any  longer.    It  was  necessary  for  the  God  to  do 
something  for  himself. 

Old  Indian  God  had  certain  powers  differing  con- 
siderably from  those  we  possess.  He  could  take  him- 
self apart  and  rebuild  himself,  and  this  is  what  he  had 
to  do.  He  took  out  his  eyes  and  put  them  through  the 
opening  in  the  rock.  Instantly  Miss  Woodpecker  saw 
an  opportunity  to  teach  the  God  a  lesson  and  deprive 
him  of  the  part  of  his  body  that  had  caused  him  trou- 
ble, and  she  flew  down  and  stole  the  eyes  of  the  God. 
Not  knowing  his  predicament,  the  immortal  one  con- 
tinued his  process  of  dismemberment,  and  soon  had 
entirely  removed  himself  from  the  prison,  but  he  was 
surprised  and  grieved  when  he  started  to  put  himself 
together.  His  eyes  were  gone  and  he  could  not  see. 
He  asked  the  birds  to  help  him  find  them,  thinking  they 
had  been  misplaced  in  some  manner,  but  Miss  Wood- 
pecker had  warned  her  bird  friends  against  the  God 
and  none  of  them  were  willing  to  assist. 

After  long  begging  and  entreating,  he  discovered 
that  his  loss  had  been  occasioned  by  his  evil  thoughts, 
and  made  haste  to  leave  the  place.  He  continued  along 
the  beach  until  he  reached  the  Nehalem  River,  where 
he  made  his  way  to  the  cabin  of  a  lonely  Indian.  He 
found  the  man  at  home  and  asleep.  It  was  not  the 
right  thing  for  a  God  to  do,  but  he  took  the  eyes  from 
the  man  and  hastily  left.  He  evidently  liked  the  Ne- 
halem country,  as  viewed  through  his  new  eyes,  for 
he  moved  to  the  place,  married,  and  lived  there  ever 
after.  He  made  frequent  trips  to  the  land  of  the  Clat- 
sop and  Tillamook  natives,  but  he  never  after  molested 
Miss  Woodpecker.  On  one  of  his  trips  to  the  Colum- 
bia River  he  saw  some  boys  making  their  way  across 
the  river.  They  were  on  their  way  to  visit  some  young 
women  residing  at  Ilwaco.  The  God  became  angered 
at  them  for  some  reason,  and  called  to  them  to  come 


OLD    INDIAN    GOD  29 

back.  They  refused,  and  he  turned  them  to  stone. 
They  can  be  seen  standing  in  the  river  just  as  the  God 
left  them,  a  number  of  stone  images.  This  is  the  ex- 
planation for  the  rocks  standing  out  in  the  water  a 
short  distance  from  Ilwaco. 


Marine  Hypnotism. 

The  history  of  the  Indian  brings  to  us  some  amus- 
ing incidents  and  some  very  strange  natural  conditions. 
No  one  ever  dreamed  that  an  underground  passage 
once  existed  leading  from  the  North  Fork  of  the  river 
to  the  ocean,  coming  out  at  the  bald  rocky  bluff  near 
Ecola,  but  it  once  existed.  The  terminal  in  the  Neha- 
lem  country  was  somewhere  on  the  Buchanan  place, 
and  that  section  was  really  an  inland  ocean,  with  clam 
beds  and  sea  life  all  about.  It  is  in  this  manner  that 
the  Indian  explains  the  presence  of  the  great  number 
of  petrified  clams  found  in  the  district.  According  to 
some  native  authorities,  this  passage  connected  this  in- 
land body  of  water  with  the  sea  before  the  Nehalem 
River  was  built  by  Ed.  Gervais. 

Only  one  Indian  ever  made  the  passage  through  this 
canal  and,  according  to  those  who  tell  the  story,  it  was 
an  unintentional  trip.  Anyway,  the  natives  tell  of  an 
Indian  residing  at  Ecola.  He  was  a  spiritualist  of  the 
old  school,  and  about  the  first  one  ever  known  in  these 
parts.  It  is  known  that  he  never  visited  the  Nehalem 
country  except  on  this  trip,  and  his  description  of  the 
country  was  so  complete  and  true  that  the  natives 
have  never  doubted  his  story.  This  man  was  in  the 
habit  of  going  to  the  bald  knoll  near  his  home  and 
spending  much  time  gazing  into  the  great  ocean  at  hia 
feet.     It  is  said  he  communicated  with  the  spirits  re- 


30  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

siding  in  the  water  and  talked  for  hours  with  them. 
He  always  carried  a  long  pole. 

One  day,  while  he  was  gazing  into  the  water,  he 
leaned  over  too  far  and  fell  in.  Some  of  the  Indians 
watching  him  saw  him  fall,  and  heard  his  wild  cry  for 
help  as  he  went.  They  rushed  to  the  beach,  and  some 
of  them  put  out  in  their  canoes.  Reaching  the  spot 
where  the  man  had  gone  down,  they  could  find  no 
trace  of  him.  They  hunted  all  that  day  and  all  the 
next,  but  his  body  could  not  be  seen.  Finally,  late  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  second  day,  someone  saw  the  pole 
always  carried  by  the  native  protruding  from  the 
water,  and  a  canoe  was  hurried  to  the  place.  One  of 
the  natives  grasped  the  end  of  the  pole  and  began  to 
pull.  There  was  something  on  the  submerged  end  of 
the  pole,  and  the  Indian  had  to  exert  all  his  strength 
to  raise  it.  On  bringing  it  to  the  surface  they  were 
surprised  to  find  the  man  clinging  to  the  pole,  and 
apparently  dead.  On  taking  him  ashore,  they  found 
the  body  was  warm  and  it  was  rushed  to  one  of  the 
cabins.  A  fire  was  hurriedly  built  and  skin  blankets 
packed  upon  the  body.  Soon  the  man  recovered  and 
told  of  his  strange  journey. 

When  he  fell  into  the  water,  a  sea  lion  took  him 
in  tow,  and  they  made  their  way  through  the  long 
passage  to  the  Nehalem  country.  He  described  the  trip 
and  everything  he  saw.  Indians  who  had  visited  this 
section  asserted  his  description  of  everything  was 
exact,  and  he  could  not  have  told  the  story  so  well 
without  actually  having  been  there.  He  told  of  the 
seals  and  sea  lions  inhabiting  this  country. 

The  Indians  assert  that  a  seal  or  sea  lion  will  exert 
a  sort  of  hypnotic  influence  upon  a  person  should  one 
rub  against  the  body  while  in  the  water,  and  say  the 
ability  of  the  man  to  make  the  trip  under  water  is  due 


< 


o 

a 

u 
m 


o 


E 

I— I 

V 


MARINE     HYPNOTISM  31 

to  this  fact.  An  aunt  of  Mrs.  Ed.  Gervais  was  once 
swimming  in  the  lower  river  and  a  seal  rubbed  against 
her.  She  immediately  began  to  feel  drowsy,  and  hur- 
ried to  the  shore  for  fear  of  being  overcome  by  the 
seal. 


Bad  Water. 


Many  people  have  wondered  what  impression  the 
first  drink  of  whisky  and  rum  had  upon  the  Indian. 
This  child  of  nature  had  never  taken  a  drink  of  any- 
thing stronger  than  water  until  the  visit  of  the  white 
man,  and  just  how  the  strange  stuff  affected  him  and 
what  explanation  he  had  for  its  taste  has  been  a  source 
of  wonder,  but  it  can  be  supplied  from  the  story  of  the 
first  ship  visiting  the  Nehalem  beach.  Some  Indians 
have  called  it  "fire  water"  and  others  by  other  names, 
but  a  chief  of  this  country  gave  it  the  name  of  "bad 
water,"  and,  according  to  the  story,  it  must  have  been. 

The  Indians  were  attracted  to  the  beach  by  a  mon- 
ster canoe  out  in  the  ocean.  All  its  sails  were  set,  but 
it  lay  motionless  upon  the  calm  water.  None  of  them 
had  ever  seen  a  canoe  rigged  like  this,  and  they  de- 
cided to  investigate.  They  could  not  see  any  of  the 
sailors  on  the  ship  and  thought  the  strange  craft  de- 
serted. The  chief,  accompanied  by  about  twenty  of 
his  men,  launched  their  canoes  and  paddled  out  to  the 
ship.  The  chief  climbed  up  the  side  ladder,  followed 
by  his  son.  When  they  reached  the  deck  they  saw  a 
strange  white  man,  and  he  greeted  them  with  delight. 

Among  the  other  signs  of  greeting  was  a  long- 
necked  bottle  and  a  cup.  The  man  turned  a  generous 
drink  from  the  bottle  and  handed  it  to  the  chief.  His 
royal  highness,  thinking  it  to  be  water,  hurriedly  drank 


32  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

it,  but  the  expression  on  his  face  indicated  it  was  some- 
thing entirely  new  and  surprising.  He  had  drank  too 
quickly.  It  was  water  the  like  of  which  he  had  never 
tasted.  Part  of  it  had  gone  down  to  his  stomach,  and 
he  was  not  able  to  get  rid  of  the  rest.  Down  it  had 
to  go,  but  it  was  an  awful  job.  He  coughed  and  sput- 
tered; he  almost  choked,  and  the  agony  was  fearful. 
He  happened  to  look  up  in  time  to  see  the  man  passing 
a  drink  of  the  same  water  to  his  son,  and  he  raised  his 
hand  in  protest.  It  was  some  time  before  he  was  able 
to  get  his  voice  and  explain  to  his  son. 

"Do  not  drink  that  water,"  he  at  last  succeeded 
in  saying.  "Do  not  drink  it,  my  son.  It  is  bad  water. 
It  tastes  bad.  It  has  been  carried  around  the  ocean  on 
this  big  canoe  for  so  long  it  has  spoiled.  Do  not 
drink  it." 

It  certainly  was  spoiled  water,  and  the  chief  warned 

his  son  in  time.     Soon  the  effects  of  the  liquor  were 

felt.    He  felt  drowsy  and  sleepy,  but  it  was  no  place  to 

sleep  where  men  carried  water  so  long  that  it  spoiled. 

Spying  a  new  object  laying  close  at  hand,  the  chief 

sneaked  it  under  the  skin  blanket  with  which  he  was 

dressed,  and  told  his  son  they  must  be  going.     It  was 

an  axe,  but  the  chief  did  not  know  of  what  use  the 

thing  might  be.    He  had  stolen  something  from  the  man 

who  gave  him  the   bad  water,  and  that  was   all  he 

wanted.    The  pair  went  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  the 

chief  carefully  handling  his  prize.     In  spite   of  the 

bad  water  he  had  drunk,  the  chief  took  a  liking  to  the 

big  canoe  and  decided  to  take  it  ashore.     He  directed 

his  men  to  tie  a  line,  made  of  elk  hide,  to  the  chain 

hanging  down  the  side  of  the  ship  and  pull  the  canoe 

ashore.    Neither  the  chief  nor  his  men  had  ever  heard 

of  an  anchor  and,  if  they  had,  would  not  have  known 

its  use.    They  did  not  know  the  ship  was  anchored  and, 

in  their  ignorance,  devoted  much  time  and  a  great  deal 


BAD    WATER  33 

of  strength  in  their  effort  to  move  the  big  canoe.  It 
would  not  budge,  however,  and  the  natives  were  forced 
to  return  to  the  beach  without  the  ship. 

The  Indians  thought  the  God  had  become  angered 
at  them  for  invading  the  ship  and  would  not  allow 
it  to  move  when  they  pulled.  It  was  the  wonder  of  a 
lifetime  to  them.  They  had  never  seen  anything  of 
that  kind  before,  and  that  it  was  manned  by  men  of 
white  skin  and,  speaking  a  language  they  could  not 
understand,  caused  great  awe  among  them.  The  high 
sails  set  and  towering  for  a  long  way  above  their 
heads ;  the  ship  itself,  larger  than  any  water  craft  they 
had  ever  seen,  and  the  fact  that  they  could  not  move 
it  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  twenty  braves,  filled 
their  minds  with  strange  sensations.  At  this  time,  the 
native  mind  had  not  conceived  the  idea  of  a  sail,  and 
the  Indians  could  not  see  the  paddles  with  which  the 
ship  was  navigated.  They  could  not  believe  it  pos- 
sessed any  motive  power  other  than  paddles,  and  that 
none  were  aboard  was  a  surprise.  It  must  have  trav- 
eled by  magic  was  the  only  explanation  they  could 
give.  It  was  the  ship  of  the  Gods,  but  the  water,  ^vith 
the  strange  taste,  was  beyond  their  comprehension. 
They  could  explain  it  in  no  other  way  than  that  it  had 
been  carried  around  on  the  vessel  for  so  long  that  it 
had  spoiled.  But  the  chief  little  thought  how  popular 
this  fiery  drink  would  become  with  the  future  genera- 
tions of  his  tribe. 

But  this  chief  and  his  followers  were  not  so  sur- 
prised as  their  children  were  doomed  to  be  later,  when 
another  ship  paid  a  visit  to  these  shores.  Another  of 
these  wonderful  canoes  anchored  off  the  beach,  and  was 
a  source  of  wonder  to  the  natives.  They  paddled  about 
it  in  their  canoes,  and  examined  its  every  detail. 
Finally  one  of  them  spied  the  ladder  stretching  down 
its  side,  and  decided  to  make  a  closer  examination.    He 


34  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

scampered  up  the  side,  followed  by  others  of  the  tribe. 
They  did  not  see  anyone  about  the  decks,  and  took 
their  own  time  in  inspecting  everything.  Anything 
movable  they  saw  greatly  interested  them.  In  fact, 
it  interested  them  so  keenly  that  axes,  hammers  and 
other  movable  articles  began  to  disappear  beneath  their 
skin  blankets.  It  was  a  wonder  to  them  that  no  people 
appeared  to  inhabit  this  strange  craft,  and  they  made 
themselves  perfectly  at  home.  About  every  member  of 
the  party  had  several  articles  appealing  to  their  fancy, 
and  some  were  making  their  way  to  the  ladder  in  an- 
ticipation of  returning  ashore. 

Suddenly  a  most  unearthly  noise  split  their  ears.  A 
cannon  was  fired  by  some  unseen  member  of  the  crew. 
In  the  smallest  fraction  of  a  second  every  Indian  was 
in  action.  It  was  a  wonder  to  see  the  great  assort- 
ment of  axes  and  other  articles  the  natives  shed  from 
their  blankets  at  the  report.  But  they  did  not  stop  to 
pick  them  up.  There  was  no  time  for  anything  but 
flight,  and  fly  they  did.  Not  one  of  them  waited  to 
leave  by  the  ladder.  Over  the  side  of  the  ship  they 
went  into  the  water:  some  landing  in  their  canoes,  the 
impetus  of  the  fall  smashing  the  frail  craft,  and  in  no 
time  many  Indians  were  struggling  in  the  water,  some 
too  excited  to  bother  about  the  direction  they  were 
going  so  long  as  they  could  get  away  from  the  canoe 
that  made  such  noises.  On  going  to  the  deck,  the 
members  of  the  crew  found  an  odd  assortment  of  arti- 
cles, blankets  some  of  the  natives  had  dropped  in 
their  wild  desire  to  get  away  from  the  vessel,  and  many 
articles  the  Indians  had  stolen.  Below  was  an  active 
collection  of  natives  in  the  water. 

Those  on  shore,  who  had  been  watching  their  com- 
panions, asserted  that  the  ship  threw  smoke  at  them 
and  a  big  noise  accompanied  it.  But  until  the  mystery 
of  the  first  cannon  was  explained  to  them,  generations 


BAD    WATER  35 

of  Indians  told  of  this  weird  experience  to  their  chil- 
dren as  one  of  the  events  to  be  preserved  among  their 
people. 


Old  Indian  God's  Courtship. 

Old  Indian  God,  as  he  was  called  by  the  natives 
dwelling  in  the  territory  of  the  Nehalera  deity,  was  a 
playful  sort  of  fellow.  He  was  not  called  the  Great 
Spirit  and  the  other  names  familiar  to  tribes  in  other 
sections  of  the  country,  but  maintained  the  name  by 
which  the  chapter  is  introduced.  Even  from  his  boy- 
hood he  was  just  as  mischievous  and  sportive  as  the 
average  boy,  and  showed  none  of  those  traits  indicative 
that  he  was  other  than  one  of  the  every-day  kind  of 
boys  making  things  interesting  on  this  earth.  He  both- 
ered his  parents,  ran  away  at  every  opportunity,  and 
spent  a  great  deal  of  time  about  the  rivers  of  his 
native  district.  About  the  only  thing  to  be  said  of  this 
young  deity  is  that  he  was  a  boy  from  the  ground  up. 

When  he  had  reached  that  period  of  youthfulness 
when  all  boys  begin  to  look  upon  some  girl  as  a  neces- 
sity in  life,  the  Old  Indian  God  had  his  fancy  set  upon 
a  maid  living  over  toward  the  place  where  the  Colum- 
bia and  Willamette  rivers  unite.  He  was  too  young 
for  the  serious  consideration  of  becoming  the  head  of 
a  family,  and  his  parents  objected  to  his  childish 
devotion.  They  refused  him  the  right  to  visit  the  land 
of  the  maiden,  and  kept  a  careful  watch  over  his  every 
movement.  His  education,  in  the  way  of  his  people 
and  in  preparation  for  the  mission  he  was  to  perform 
in  life,  seemed  more  important  to  them  than  paying 
tribute  to  the  beauty  and  attractiveness  of  a  girl  and, 
in  this  particular,  their  opinions  were  shared  by  the 


36  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

parents  of  the  maiden  in  question.     But  the  youthful 
god  thought  differently. 

He  stood  the  strict  regulations  of  his  parents  for 
some  time,  but  his  spirit  was  too  unconquerable  to  sur- 
render easily.  One  day,  when  the  ducks  were  upon 
the  waters  and  all  the  native  boys  were  hunting,  he 
stole  off  to  the  bay  for  the  purpose  of  planning  out  his 
future.  Of  course,  he  told  his  parents  he  was  going 
hunting,  and  they  offered  no  objection  when  he  took 
his  hunting  equipment,  including  a  large  bag.  They 
did  not  know  he  had  been  secreting  a  supply  of  food 
in  the  forest  in  preparation  for  a  journey  to  the  home 
of  his  lady  love.  For  several  days  he  had  been  quietly 
gathering  a  stock  of  supplies,  and  laid  his  plans  to 
quietly  slip  from  the  land  of  his  fathers  before  anyone 
would  miss  him  from  the  home. 

Making  his  way  down  the  bay  to  the  point  where 
he  had  secreted  his  quantity  of  supplies,  he  hastily  ar- 
ranged them  in  his  hunting  sack  and  started  up  the 
beach  toward  the  Nehalem  country.  He  followed  the 
river  to  its  forks,  and  turned  to  follow  the  North  Fork 
toward  the  north.  It  was  a  long,  hard  trip  for  a  youth 
of  his  age,  the  God  then  being  only  sixteen  years  old. 
He  spent  one  night  in  camp  far  up  toward  the  head- 
waters of  the  river.  At  this  time,  the  present  ridge  of 
mountains  did  not  stand  in  his  path,  but  the  country 
was  a  gradual  rise  from  the  river  until  about  midway 
to  the  Willamette  River,  whence  it  dipped  toward  the 
north  in  a  gradual  slope  to  where  that  stream  joined 
the  Columbia.  Occasionally  a  rise  in  the  surface  of  the 
country  approached  the  magnitude  of  a  hill,  but  no 
abrupt  mountain  peaks  broke  the  monotony  of  the 
country. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  the  God 
reached  the  land  to  which  he  was  bound,  and  sought 
the  one  who  had  attracted  him.    To  his  grief  and  sur- 


OLD  INDIAN  GOD'S  COURTSHIP  2>7 

prise,  he  learned  that  his  place,  or  the  place  he  desired, 
at  the  side  of  the  maiden,  had  been  usurped  by  a  brave 
from  up  the  Columbia,  and  his  hard  journey  had  been 
made  for  nothing.  Not  only  had  he  lost  the  girl,  but 
he  soon  became  aware  of  an  enmity  his  visit  had 
caused.  The  unknown  lover  of  the  maiden  was  one 
of  those  who  considered  a  dead  rival  Avas  less  trouble- 
some than  a  live  one,  and  he  planned  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  visitor.  During  his  visits  to  the  tribe,  he 
had  made  friends  with  many  of  the  youths  of  the 
village,  and  to  these  he  told  his  scheme.  It  was  that 
they  should  induce  the  visitor  from  the  Nehalem  land 
to  begin  his  home  journey  that  night,  and  they  would 
waylay  him  in  the  forest. 

But  the  God  from  the  Nehalem  had  a  friend  in  the 
village.  It  was  no  other  than  Bluebird,  whom  he  had 
befriended  one  day  in  the  forest.  Bluebird  heard  the 
plans  of  the  young  braves  and  listened  to  their  coun- 
cils. She  immediately  made  known  the  plot  to  the 
God,  and  told  him  how  he  could  save  himself  from  the 
uncalled  for  revenge.  That  night  the  God  proclaimed 
his  intention  of  returning  home,  and  announced  it  in 
such  a  manner  that  his  rival  and  his  friends  would 
hear  and  not  suspect  that  he  had  been  warned  of  their 
plans.  Before  darkness  fell,  ho  made  his  way  out  of 
the  village  and  into  the  dismal  forest  stretching  for 
miles  between  himself  and  home.  Only  a  short  dis- 
tance, however,  did  he  follow  the  accustomed  path. 
As  soon  as  he  had  made  his  Avay  far  enough  out  of  the 
settlement  that  his  movomonts  would  not  be  observed, 
he  took  a  side  path  and  met  the  Bluebird  on  an  aban- 
doned trail ;  one  that  had  not  been  used  by  the  people 
of  that  country  for  years.  Reaching  this  trail,  lie  Tuade 
haste  to  place  as  mufh  distance  between  himself  and 
the  land  of  his  new  enemies  as  possible.  The  Bluebird 
was  his  constant  companion,  but  frequently  made  side 


2"; 


*1  ^.       jT     s.    < 


38  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

trips  across  the  forest  back  to  the  village  of  the  Wil- 
lamettes,  and  to  the  path  his  pursuers  followed  and 
back  to  her  companions,  keeping  him  informed  of  the 
movements  of  those  who  had  planned  to  pursue. 

On  and  on  he  pushed.  The  trail  had  overgrown 
with  brush  and  progress  was  slow,  but  he  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  low  divide  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Nehalem  before  it  was  time  to  camp  for  the  night. 

Next  morning  he  found  the  old  trail  so  overgrown 
that  it  was  impossible  to  make  time  any  longer,  and 
he  decided  to  continue  his  journey  by  the  path  he  had 
come.  It  was  hard  work  to  reach  this  path  over  the 
rough  and  log-strewn  ground,  but  he  finally  succeeded ; 
not,  however,  without  taxing  his  strength  to  the  limit, 
and  a  very  sore  ankle,  bruised  on  a  rock,  not  only  both- 
ered him  in  walking,  but  was  exceedingly  painful.  To 
add  to  his  other  troubles.  Bluebird  came  to  him  and 
gave  him  the  information  that  his  enemies  from  the 
Willamette  were  rapidly  approaching.  They  had  re- 
solved upon  revenge  for  the  deception  he  had  practiced 
the  night  before  in  taking  the  other  path,  and  were 
determined  to  overtake  him  before  he  had  reached  the 
land  of  the  Nehalems.  The  God  told  Bluebird  of  his 
predicament,  and  asked  her  to  keep  a  close  watch  upon 
the  approaching  avengers. 

The  God  now  saw  he  could  not  hope  to  outstrip  his 
pursuers  in  the  trip,  and  his  only  salvation  was  in 
battle.  But  how  could  he,  a  lone  traveler,  unarmed, 
expect  to  cope  with  the  number  approaching?  His 
mission  to  the  land  of  the  fair  maiden  had  been  peace- 
ful and  he  did  not  carry  the  accustomed  hunting  equip- 
ment. His  ankle,  too.'^was  paining  him  all  the  more, 
and  the  prospect  was  discouraging.  His  only  safety 
was  in  building  a  barricade  of  rocks  between  himself 
and  his  pursuers  to  such  a  height  that  he  could  reach 
a  place  far  down  the  river  where  friends  lived  before 


OLD  INDIAN  GOD'S  COURTSHIP  39 

they  could  climb  over  it.  He  tackled  the  job  with 
a  vim.  Gathering  all  the  rocks  from  the  country 
around,  he  arranged  them  in  a  long  barricade  stretch- 
ing from  the  Coast  Range  of  mountains  to  the  ocean. 
Rocks  from  miles  around  were  gathered,  and  so  com- 
plete was  the  work  performed  by  the  God,  assisted  by 
Bluebird,  that  none  can  be  found  in  the  country  round 
about  to  this  day.  Huge  cliffs,  towering  hundreds  of 
feet  above  the  surrounding  formations,  can  be  seen 
where  the  God  broke  off  immense  chunks  of  rock  to 
use  in  building  his  barricade.  And  his  work  was  not 
in  vain.  Bluebird,  watching  the  progress  of  the  pur- 
suers, brought  the  glad  tidings  that  the  enemy  had 
become  discouraged  at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the 
almost  impassable  mountain  and  turned  back  on  their 
way  home. 

The  God  sat  down  to  rest  after  the  great  exertions 
and,  for  the  first  time,  a  new  and  more  potent  danger 
confronted  him.  He  remembered  that  it  had  been 
three  days  since  he  left  home  to  go  hunting  for  a  few 
hours,  and  the  paternal  wrath  was  something  to  be 
considered.  When  he  started  on  the  expedition  he  had 
not  thought  of  this.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had  been 
determined  to  go  out  into  the  great  world  and  make 
his  own  way,  accompanied  by  the  maiden  of  his  choice, 
but  the  maiden  had  had  other  plans,  and  now  he  must 
return  home  to  receive  whatever  punishment  his  father 
should  invent.  Between  the  impossibility  of  returning 
to  the  land  of  the  Willamettes  and  his  natural  fear  of 
the  paternal  moccasin,  the  God  was  in  an  unfortunate 
predicament.  The  longer  he  studied  the  matter  the 
more  distant  was  the  solution.  He  was  getting  hungry 
as  well.  Holding  a  council  with  his  friend.  Bluebird, 
he  decided  to  go  down  to  the  ocean  and  secure  a  supply 
of  clams,  and  there  spend  the  approaching  night.  On 
the  way  he  revolved  all  the  plans  of  a  lifetime  in  his 


40  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

mind,  and  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had 
better  spend  a  long  time  on  the  North  Fork  of  the 
river,  and  let  his  parents  learn  that  he  was  large 
enough  to  take  care  of  himself.  Clams  were  plentiful 
near  the  ocean,  and  the  God  had  no  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing an  immense  supply.  These  he  carried  up  the  river 
and  made  his  camp  at  the  base  of  Onion  Peak. 

The  disappearance  of  the  God  from  his  home  had 
created  a  sensation  among  the  people  of  the  Tillamook 
Bay  district,  and  the  news  rapidly  spread  to  the  Neha- 
lem  country.  Searchers  were  sent  out  in  every  direc- 
tion to  make  inquiry  and  hunt  for  the  lost  boy.  Mr. 
Seagull  had  told  all  his  people  to  search  the  ocean; 
Woodpecker  and  the  rest  of  the  birds  promised  to  hunt 
in  the  forest,  and  Mr.  Rabbit  and  Mr,  Bear  notified 
everyone  they  met  to  send  in  word  should  news  of  the 
lost  boy  be  heard.  All  over  the  Nehalem  country  the 
news  spread,  and  one  day  as  Bluebird  was  winging  her 
way  down  the  river  she  met  Woodpecker,  who  told  her 
the  terrible  news.  Bluebird  hastened  back  to  where  her 
friend  was  encamped  and  told  of  the  great  search  be- 
ing made  for  him.  Then,  at  the  direction  of  the  God, 
Bluebird  made  the  long  trip  across  the  hills  to  the 
boy's  parents  to  ascertain  if  they  were  angry.  It  was 
happy  tidings  she  brought  back  to  the  disheartened 
God.  His  parents  were  bewailing  their  loss,  and  prom- 
ised to  receive  him  with  open  arms  upon  his  return. 

The  camp  was  abandoned  in  haste,  and  the  God 
made  the  journey  to  his  home  without  losing  a  moment. 
The  great  store  of  clams  he  had  carried  to  the  camping 
place  from  the  ocean  can  now  be  seen  in  the  vicinity 
of  Onion  Peak  and  along  the  shores  of  the  North  Fork 
of  the  river,  although  today  they  have  turned  to  stone, 
and  are  gathered  by  the  white  people  visiting  the  sec- 
tion as  rare  souvenirs  of  their  trip,  little  knowing  they 
were  placed  there  centuries  ago  by  Old  Indian  God, 


INDIAN     HISTORY  41 

Indian  History. 

The  earliest  story  of  the  Nehalem  country,  that 
dealing  with  the  Indians  dwelling  here  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  white  people,  is  so  closely  entwined  with 
that  of  the  Clatsops,  to  the  north,  and  the  Tillamooks, 
to  the  south,  that  its  separation  is  almost  impossible. 
The  natives,  belonging  to  the  true  Nehalem  tribe,  were 
few  and  rather  roving  in  their  life.  They  visited  the 
Clatsops  and  Tillamooks,  intermarried  with  these  tribes 
and  never  formed  what  might  really  be  called  a  settled 
tribe.  Very  few  there  were  of  the  true  Nehalem  blood, 
if  such  a  strain  could  be  discovered. 

This  district  seemed  to  be  a  camping  and  hunting 
ground  between  the  two  powerful  tribes,  and  was  a 
Garden  of  Eden  of  which  they  voluntarily  deprived 
themselves,  as  far  as  making  a  permanent  settlement 
was  concerned.  There  never  was  a  time  when  some 
natives  could  not  be  found  here,  but  never  a  great 
number  of  settled  residents  at  one  particular  time.  The 
reason  for  this  is  not  known.  Game  was  here  In  great 
abundance.  Elk  and  deer  were  more  easily  secured 
and  found  in  greater  numbers,  according  to  the  pres- 
ent Indians,  than  cattle  today.  There  was  no  trouble 
to  secure  all  the  meat  one  desired,  and  the  natives 
never  killed  for  slaughter.  In  this  one  respect._  the 
Indian  was  far  superior  to  his  white  brother.  He  killed 
only  that  which  he  needed  for  present  use  or  for  the 
necessary  season's  supply.  On  the  other  hand,  as  soon 
as  the  white  settlers  came,  they  began  to  kill  indis- 
criminately. It  is  said  the  needs  of  the  natives  never 
depleted  the  number  of  elk  and  deer  sufficiently  to  be 
noticed.  Hunters  from  the  north  came  here;  natives 
on  whose  grounds  these  supplies  were  not  found.  They 
spent  some  time  in  the  foothills  securing  the  season's 
supply  of  meat,  and  departed  for  home  laden  with  a 


42  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

wealth  they  could  not  find  elsewhere.  Fish  came  in  the 
rivers  so  numerously  there  was  no  difficulty  in  spear- 
ing them.  In  comparison  with  former  conditions,  the 
earliest  settlers  say  there  are  no  fish  in  these  waters 
today.  The  keen  desire  for  wealth  possessed  by  the 
whites  has  depleted  the  runs.  There  was  no  necessity 
for  hatcheries  or  closed  seasons.  Other  game,  as  well, 
could  be  found  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  where  cities 
now  stand.  Bear,  wild  cat,  and  mountain  lion  supplied 
furs.  Clams  were  so  plentiful  that,  as  one  of  the 
natives  said,  in  digging  one  a  person  secured  a  whole 
mess.  Nehalem  Valley  was  a  paradise  in  which  few 
of  the  Indians  made  a  permanent  home. 

The  earliest  settlers  found  merely  a  handful  of 
natives,  and  these  hospitable.  William  Snyder,  who 
came  here  in  1870,  relates  that  the  number  of  Indians 
actually  residing  in  the  Nehalem  country  was  from 
twelve  to  twenty.  These  had  no  objection  to  the  com- 
ing of  the  whites.  They  had  no  particular  settlement, 
but  were  scattered  along  the  river  banks  and  the  sand 
spit  where  food  and  shelter  was  best  combined.  Fre- 
quently parties  of  them  came  from  the  north  or  the 
south  and  made  campgrounds  for  a  short  period  at 
Dean's  Point,  at  the  present  site  of  Wheeler,  at  the 
forks  of  the  river,  or  at  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain.  They 
came  to  fish  and  hunt,  or  spent  short  intervals  of  time 
along  the  Nehalem  on  visits  with  neighboring  tribes. 
He  says  the  natives  here  claimed  to  be  a  branch  of  the 
Siletz  tribe,  but  how  they  came  here  is  not  explained 
by  them. 

They  were  particularly  friendly  to  the  white  set- 
tlers, and  claimed  to  be  pleased  to  have  them  come,  as 
long  as  they  did  not  interfere  with  the  natives  living 
here  or  their  customs.  One  thing  of  all  others  to  arouse 
the  enmity  of  the  Indians  was  interference  with  their 
dead.    The  mode  of  burial  was  simple.    The  deceased 


INDIAN    HISTORY  43 

was  placed  in  a  large  canoe,  the  bottom  of  which  had 
been  pierced  to  permit  the  rain  to  escape,  all  the  be- 
longings decorated  the  sepulcher,  and  a  smaller  canoe 
placed  over  all.  These  places  were  sacred  to  the 
natives,  and  keen  resentment  was  held  against  anyone 
molesting  them.  One  early  settler  is  said  to  have  taken 
a  fancy  to  a  particular  canoe  which  served  as  the 
resting  place  of  the  departed.  He  removed  every- 
thing from  the  craft,  patched  it  and  proceeded  to 
use  it.  The  natives  told  him  to  return  it  and  place 
the  remains  and  decorations  where  they  belonged. 
He  refused  and  a  few  days  later  the  man  awoke  to 
find  his  canoe  smashed  so  completely  that  there  was 
not  enough  left  "to  make  kindling  wood."  His  life 
was  made  unpleasant  by  the  natives  and  he  did  not 
stay  long  in  these  parts. 

The  natives  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  and  preserved 
their  youthful  appearance  until  very  late  in  life.  It 
was  not  infrequent  to  find  Indian  women  in  the  Ne- 
halem  and  Tillamook  districts  who  claimed  to  be  more 
than  100  years  old.  When  Mr.  Snyder  came  here, 
there  were  two  women  said  to  be  109  and  112  years 
of  age  respectively.  The  latter  was  named  Sugar 
Labush.  Had  it  not  been  for  an  unfortunate  acci- 
dent in  which  she  was  drowned,  she  might  be  living 
today.  The  only  thing  interferring  would  have  been 
William  Snyder's  rifle,  as  he  came  near  shooting  her 
twice ;  which  will  be  related  later. 

The  Indians  residing  here  had  no  particular  form 
of  government  and  their  laws  were  interpreted  to 
them  by  a  council  appointed  from  the  body  of  the 
tribe.  There  was  no  chief  as  far  back  as  the  present 
native  residents  know  and  disputes  were  settled  more 
by  arbitration  than  any  other  way.  These  matters, 
as  well  as  rules  governing  social  relations,  were  de- 
cided by  a  council  of  the   wisest  men  of  the  tribe. 


44  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

They  were  selected  by  the  people  for  their  wisdom 
and  judgment.  All  matters  were  submitted  to  them 
and  their  decision  was  never  over-ruled.  The  people 
accepted  it  as  the  will  of  the  entire  body  by  which 
they  had  been  selected.  It  is  pleasing  to  discover 
that  few  matters  demanded  the  calling  of  these  coun- 
cils. The  people  were  peaceful  and  worked  for  the 
interest  of  all.  There  appears  to  have  been  no  serious 
difficulties,  either  among  themselves  or  with  their 
neighbors,  and  scarcely  any  necessity  for  a  form  of 
government.  Their  customs  were  derived  chiefly  from 
association  with  neighboring  and  larger  tribes  and, 
from  them,  they  secured  all  the  guidance  particularly 
needed  in  their  simple  life. 

There  was  such  an  abundance  of  game  and  fish 
and  such  rich  fields  in  which  to  feed  their  horses  that 
property  laws  were  scarcely  needed.  In  their  do- 
mestic relations,  they  followed  the  custom  of  the  tribes 
to  the  north  and  a  great  per  cent  of  the  Nehalemites  of 
that  day  either  secured  wives  from  the  Columbia 
River  tribes  or  the  maidens  were  won  by  the  northern 
braves  and  went  there  to  live.  The  mutual  interests 
binding  the  people  together  and  the  one  desire  to  live 
in  peace  and  plenty  did  not  occasion  an  array  of  legal 
formality  such  as  entangles  the  white  residents  of  the 
section  today.  There  was,  in  those  days,  no  cry  of  too 
much  law.  The  rules  laid  down  by  the  councils  of 
wise  men,  when  such  were  necessary,  were  simple  and 
easily  understood.  To  the  mind  of  the  few  Indians 
now  living  here,  the  idea  that  their  white  successors 
have  representative  bodies  to  make  laws  and  another 
either  to  interpret  or  unmake  them  is  a  joke.  There 
was  no  question  in  the  mind  of  the  early  natives  what 
would  happen  in  the  event  he  stole  his  neighbor's  pony 
or  ran  away  with  his  squaw.  The  law  of  the  tribe  was 
simple  and  well  defined,  and  no  lawyer  could  get  him 


INDIAN    HISTORY  45 

out  of  the  difficulty.     He  must  take  his  punishment 
without  expectation  of  pardon. 

But  there  were  few  breaches  of  the  laws  in  those 
days.  Crime,  as  we  know  it,  was  practically  unknown. 
The  shiftless  members  of  the  tribe  were  easily  handled 
and  in  a  manner  that  broke  them  of  any  worthless 
habit. 


The  Beeswax  Ship. 

Eomanee  plays  an  important  part  in  the  story  of 
Nehalem.  No  part  of  the  coast  of  Oregon  breathes  so 
much  of  mystery  or  holds  the  mind  of  the  story  teller 
so  completely  in  its  spell  as  this.  It  is,  beyond  all 
else,  a  series  of  stories  so  completely  baffling  that  the 
mind  of  an  Irving  would  be  lost  in  the  skein  of  un- 
raveled tales.  A  suggestion  here,  a  hint  there,  and  an 
unconnected  bit  of  evidence  over  yonder  leads  the 
lover  of  romance  into  a  maze  of  possibilities  until  be- 
wilderment confuses  the  entire  story.  There  is  just 
enough  of  realism  surrounding  the  beaches  of  Nehalem 
to  make  any  story  possible  and,  to  please  the  mind 
of  the  fanciful,  writers  have  indulged  their  imagina- 
tions in  wonderful  plays,  dramas  and  grand  operas 
to  such  an  extent  that  no  history  of  this  section  is 
complete  without  these  stories;  a  sort  of  mythology 
connecting  tlie  unrecorded  past  with  the  present. 

Whether  these  stories  are  correct  may  never  be 
known,  but  sufficient  credence  has  been  given  them 
to  lead  many  to  follow  this  rain})ow  in  quest  of  this 
pot  of  gold.  Even  the  doubting  members  of  the  com- 
munity leave  a  question  of  their  entire  belief  in  the 
falsity  of  the  tales.  There  are  many  suggestions  point- 
ing to  the  truth  of  some  of  these  stories  and  there  is 


46  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

just  as  much  evidence  to  the  contrary,  so  it  is  left 
entirely  to  the  wish  or  imagination  of  the  reader 
whether  that  individual  shall  accept  them  and  leave 
them  in  our  history.  Perhaps  in  the  Nehalem  Valley 
and  among  those  who  have  had  the  first  and  best  op- 
portunity to  examine  into  the  reality  of  this  part  of 
our  story,  there  is  an  equally  divided  sentiment  about 
it.  But  there  is  one  certainty,  the  story  of  Nehalem 
would  be  a  hollow  tale  without  these  bits  of  imagina- 
tion-stirring incidentals. 

No  story  has  more  conflicting  details,  nor  so  many 
doubts  surrounding  it  as  that  of  a  ship  laden  with 
beeswax  which  was  wrecked  upon  the  long  finger  of 
sand  stretching  from  the  north  mainland  and  separat- 
ing Nehalem  Bay  from  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
earliest  stories  brought  down  to  us  by  the  Indians  are 
replete  with  incidents  connected  with  it  and  the  early 
white  settlers  placed  a  great  deal  of  confidence  in  these 
tales.  That  a  ship  carrying  much  beeswax  was 
wrecked  here  is  without  question.  No  story  of  the 
Nehalem  country  has  ever  been  told  without  reference 
to  it  and  all  these  are  substantiated  by  the  immense 
quantity  of  wax  found  scattered  along  the  beach. 
There  seems  to  have  been  some  difference  in  opinion 
among  scientists  regarding  the  true  character  of  the 
substance,  some  claiming  that  it  is  a  form  of  mineral 
wax,  while  others  positively  say  it  is  beeswax.  Most 
authorities  hold  to  the  latter  opinion  and  this  story 
adds  to  the  belief  among  the  earliest  residents  of  the 
valley. 

The  wax  has  been  found  in  the  sands  forming  the 
seawall  from  near  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain  to  a  point 
three  miles  toward  the  Nehalem  River.  The  first 
white  settlers  say  there  were  great  chunks,  some 
weighing  as  high  as  two  hundred  pounds,  either  par- 
tially buried  by  the  sand  or  completely  under  ground. 


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THE    BEESWAX    SHIP  47 

They  varied  from  this  size  to  small  candle-shaped 
pieces,  evidently  intended  for  use  in  the  missions  along 
the  southern  coast.  The  Indians  tell  of  a  greater  ex- 
tent to  which  it  was  found.  Mrs.  Gervais  tells  of  the 
time  when  she  was  a  small  girl  when  the  beach  was 
strewn  for  miles  with  this  wax.  She  frequently  visited 
the  beach  and  found  many  candles  and  gathered  them 
with  which  to  play.  They  had  the  "rope"  in  them, 
she  asserts,  meaning  that  the  wicking  had  not  com- 
pletely rotted  away.  This  was  more  than  three-quar« 
ters  of  a  century  ago.  Her  brother  was  in  the  habit 
of  packing  much  of  the  wax  with  him  on  each  visit 
to  Astoria,  where  he  sold  it  to  the  stores. 

Other  Indians  followed  his  example,  and  the  wax 
was  a  source  of  revenue  to  many  natives  from  which 
they  secured  comforts  of  life.  The  first  white  settlers 
soon  learned  the  value  of  the  substance,  and  many  tons 
were  shipped  to  the  Astoria  and  Portland  markets. 
From  the  date  of  the  earliest  shipments  to  the  present 
time  there  is  no  telling  how  much  of  the  wax  has  been 
marketed,  but,  if  all  stories  are  correct,  it  would  run 
into  scores  of  tons.  Even  summer  visitors  to  the 
beaches  now  are  fortunate  enough  to  dig  up  samples  of 
various  sizes.  Two  hundred  pounds  were  secured  a 
year  ago  by  a  pair  of  industrious  diggers.  Securing 
these  samples  is  a  difficult  job.  The  sands  have  cov- 
ered the  places  to  considerable  depth,  and  just  where 
to  dig  is  the  question.  At  present,  it  is  a  matter  of 
guesswork,  and  the  successful  hunter  is  forced  to  ex- 
cavate a  hole  several  feet  in  depth,  but  even  this  dis- 
couraging undertaking  does  not  deter  scores  from  try- 
ing their  hand  and  considering  a  small  piece  a  satis- 
factory reward  for  their  labors. 

But  whence  came  this  great  amount  of  wax?  This 
is  a  part  of  the  romance.  Many  different  stories  have 
been  told,  but  that  secured  from  the  last  of  the  nativei 


48  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

and  one  upon  which  the  most  reliance  can  be  placed, 
connects  the  coming  of  the  beeswax  with  the  equally 
interesting  mystery  surrounding  the  treasure  said  to 
have  been  buried  on  the  sides  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Moun- 
tain, and  which  will  be  told  in  the  following  story. 
Even  the  romancer  has  taken  a  hand  at  the  wonderful 
tale,  and  added  the  air  of  piracy  to  it.  Whether  the 
fated  ship,  whose  bones  have  partially  rotted  on  the 
sands  of  the  beach,  was  navigated  by  pirates,  or 
whether  it  was  one  on  a  peaceful  mission  to  the  Orient, 
will  never  be  known.  Large  quantities  of  teakwood 
have  been  found  on  the  beach  near  the  scene  of  the 
wreck,  but  whether  this  is  a  part  of  the  wax  and 
treasure  ship,  or  of  some  other  unfortunate  craft,  is 
still  a  mystery.  Should  this  wood  have  been  a  part 
of  the  ship,  its  origin  must  have  been  in  the  Oriental 
countries,  as  this  almost  indestructible  product  of  na- 
ture is  found  chiefly  in  the  forests  of  the  Philippine 
Islands.  But  the  source  of  the  ship  and  whence  it  was 
bound  is  not  particularly  a  part  of  our  story. 

One  tale,  told  to  an  early  settler  by  Indians  residing 
here,  brings  three  ships  in  deadly  conflict  off  the  Neha- 
lem  Beach.  It  claims  the  natives  were  hunting  on  the 
slope  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  when  they  noticed  three  strange 
craft  far  out  in  the  water.  As  they  neared  the  shore, 
the  watchers  could  see  that  the  ships  were  throwing 
smoke  at  each  other.  "Poof,  poof,"  is  one  way  in 
which  they  described  it.  and  throwing  smoke  was  an- 
other. The  battle  continued  for  some  time  and,  at  last, 
two  of  the  ships  sank.  The  other  was  badly  damaged, 
and  forced  to  make  the  beach  for  repairs.  The  native 
mathematician  figured  a  crew  of  thirty  men  aboard  the 
boat.  As  soon  as  the  repairs  were  completed,  the  ship 
was  pulled  from  the  beach  and  an  attempt  made  to  run 
it  through  the  breakers.  It  was  a  fatal  attempt,  for 
it  was  wrecked  before   the  outer  breaker  had   been 


THE    BEESWAX    SHIP  49 

reached,  and  the  beach  was  soon  strewn  with  its  equip- 
ment. But  this  latter  ship  was  not  the  one  carrying 
the  beeswax.  It  was  the  mysterious  treasure  ship  from 
which  came  the  story  found  in  the  following  chapter. 
The  wax  was  a  part  of  the  cargo  of  one  of  the  ships 
which  was  sunk  during  the  battle. 


Neah-Kah-Nie  Treasure. 

The  story  told  by  Mrs.  Gervais,  and  confirmed  by 
stories  told  by  other  natives  in  years  gone  by,  brings 
but  one  ship  here.  Its  nature  and  the  place  from  which 
it  sailed  is  still  hidden  in  the  distant  past.  One  morn- 
ing the  natives  went  to  the  hunting  ground  along  the 
mountain  in  quest  of  game.  To  their  surprise,  they 
found  a  large  quantity  of  a  strange  substance;  some- 
thing they  had  never  seen  before.  It  was  the  beeswax 
of  our  story.  A  little  further  along  on  the  beach  they 
discovered  the  wreck  of  a  monstrous  "canoe."  None 
of  them  had  ever  seen  an  object  of  this  kind  before. 
Its  sails  were  flying  in  the  wind,  and  objects  of  every 
description,  new  to  the  Indians,  were  found  on  the 
beach.  To  add  more  mystery  to  the  whole  affair,  there 
was  a  number,  told  to  have  been  thirty,  of  men  whose 
faces  were  white  and  whose  dress  and  language  was 
new  to  them.  By  signs,  they  learned  the  men  had 
come  from  across  the  ocean  and  their  ship  had  been 
wrecked  during  the  night. 

The  date  of  the  wreck  is  thought  to  have  been  about 
the  year  1679.  Markings  on  the  wax  seem  to  indicate 
this  assumption  is  correct.  Many  pieces  have  been 
found  with  figures,  both  Roman  numerals  and  Arabic, 
of  this  date.  One  of  these,  with  the  date  1679,  is  now 
in  possession  of  the  Nehalem  Valley  Bank.  The  last 
of  the  Indians,  in  relating  the  story,  said  she  heard 


50  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

the  story  from  her  father ;  it  had  been  told  to  him  by 
his  grandmother,  and  she  heard  it  from  her  grand- 
mother. This  would  carry  the  story  back  for  four  gen- 
erations of  the  Indian  life,  and  bring  the  date  not  far 
from  that  cut  upon  the  chunk  of  wax  recovered. 

Every  story  told  by  the  natives  shows  that  a  great 
number  of  candles  were  scattered  along  the  beach,  fol- 
lowing the  wreck,  and  gathered  by  Indians  to  the  last 
generation.  Early  white  settlers  found  many  broken 
pieces,  and  some  have  been  preserved.  Some  of  them 
are  the  size  of  our  present  candles,  others  larger,  while 
many  have  been  worn  to  a  tapering  shape  by  the  action 
of  the  breakers  upon  the  shore  where  the  wax  has 
rolled.  None  have  been  found  with  the  wicking  in 
them,  but  the  hole  it  once  occupied  is  still  plainly 
seen.  The  natives  did  not  know  to  what  use  they 
could  put  these  candles,  for  they  had  not  outgrown  the 
campfire  as  a  source  of  light  for  their  evenings  about 
their  homes. 

Many  conflicting  stories  have  been  told  of  what 
became  of  the  crew  of  this  strange  vessel.  All  stories 
agree  that  the  number  was  not  more  than  thirty. 
Some  claim  the  men  were  all  lost  while  they  were  try- 
ing to  rescue  a  part  of  the  cargo  of  the  wreck,  but 
again  we  are  forced  to  go  back  to  the  most  authentic 
story  told  by  the  Indians.  Of  the  number,  four  are 
said  to  have  taken  the  trail  to  the  north,  and  probably 
made  their  way  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Columbia  River, 
where  they  might  have  been  picked  up  by  a  vessel  land- 
ing there.  The  remaining  twenty-six  decided  to  cast 
their  lot  in  the  beautiful  country  surrounding  the 
mountain.  They  built  cottages  on  the  slope  overlook- 
ing the  ocean,  and  attempted  to  continue  the  friendly 
relation  with  the  Indians  that  had  started  when  they 
were  wrecked.  This  intercourse  did  not  remain  friendly 
very  long.    Depredations  upon  the  honest  and  innocent 


NEAH-KAH-NIE    TREASURE      51 

inhabitants  of  the  country  caused  ill  feeling.  Finally 
their  actions  became  so  unbearable  that  a  battle  was 
fought  between  the  white  men  and  the  natives  in  which 
all  the  whites  were  killed. 

Previous  to  the  complete  destruction  of  the  ship, 
the  men  are  said  to  have  taken  a  heavy  "box"  far  up 
on  the  slope  of  the  mountain  and  buried  it.  This  box, 
as  the  Indians  described  it,  is  the  famed  treasure  chest 
of  the  following  story : 

Beeswax  Story  Doubted. 

Scientists,  like  doctors  and  lawyers,  disagree.  The 
same  conditions  and  the  same  substance  looks  differ- 
ent when  viewed  through  scientific  eyes  and,  as  a  re- 
sult, the  world  keeps  wagging  between  two  theories. 
Scientists  can  even  find  an  argument  on  whether  a  cow 
is  vegetable  or  animal.  She  eats  hay,  and  why  is  she 
not  vegetable?  The  meat  on  the  cow's  body  derives 
its  substance  from  the  vegetable  matter  absorbed  by 
the  cow,  and  she  is  about  as  much  vegetable  as  any- 
thing, although  she  does  not  grow  in  the  ground.  But, 
of  course,  the  composition  of  a  cow  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  beeswax  substance  found  all  along  the  Neha- 
lem  Beach. 

The  extent  to  which  this  substance  has  been  found 
and  the  wide  area  over  which  it  is  scattered  give 
reason  for  the  belief  that  it  is  not  beeswax,  but  a  min- 
eral wax  deposited  in  the  ground  during  the  ages  that 
have  passed.  It  has  been  found  on  the  beach  down 
where  the  waves  of  the  ocean  can  play  with  it ;  it  has 
been  found  just  as  extensively  along  the  seawall  that 
holds  back  the  mighty  breakers  during  the  highest 
waters  of  the  year,  and  many  pieces  have  come  to  light 
far  back  where  the  waters  of  the  ocean  have  never 


52  STORIES    OF     NEHALEM 

washed.  In  fact,  some  of  it  has  been  discovered 
more  than  a  mile  from  the  nearest  beach.  It  comes 
to  light  on  the  surface,  and  deep  in  the  sands  along 
the  seawall.  It  is  very  erratic  in  the  places  of  its 
concealment.  From  under  logs  and  stumps  men  have 
dug  it,  and  much  has  been  turned  up  by  the  plow 
during  the  work  of  making  gardens.  From  the  base 
of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain  to  far  down  the  sandspit, 
a  distance  of  miles,  this  strange  substance  comes. 
Chunks  of  this  wax  have  been  found  on  the  Tubbesing 
place,  more  than  a  mile  away.  Probably  one  of  the 
strangest  places  in  which  it  has  been  found  was  re- 
cently exposed  by  workmen  while  clearing  for  S.  G. 
Read  some  distance  back  from  the  Tavern  at  Neah- 
Kah-Nie. 

They  were  unearthing  a  monstrous  stump  which 
had  become  a  nuisance  in  the  garden.  From  under  one 
of  the  roots,  itself  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  a  chunk 
of  the  wax  was  dug.  It  was  in  such  a  position  as  to 
preclude  the  theory  that  anyone  could  have  placed  it 
there.  The  tree  probably  was  cut  from  this  stump  a 
half  century  ago,  and  it  must  have  been  many  hundred 
years  old  at  the  time  it  was  felled.  Judging  from  the 
size  of  the  root  under  which  the  wax  was  found,  the 
tree  must  have  been  a  monster.  It  was  far  back  from 
the  beach,  and  in  a  beaver-dam  meadow  where  the 
tide  had  never  been.  It  is  impossible  that  the  wax 
could  have  floated  there,  and  had  it  been  carried  to 
the  place  by  human  hands  its  position  was  such  to  in- 
dicate it  came  there  before  the  date  estimated  at  which 
the  beeswax  ship  was  wrecked  on  the  beach. 

This  great  variety  of  positions,  and  the  disagree- 
ment of  scientific  men  as  to  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
stance, has  caused  serious  doubts  in  the  minds  of  many 
who  have  studied  the  problem  whether  it  is  beeswax 
or  mineral  wax.    Those  holding  the  latter  theory  assert 


BEESWAX    STORY    DOUBTED    53 

it  is  the  residue  of  petroleum,  of  paraflSne  base,  which 
has  been  forced  up  through  the  soil  by  the  pressure 
underneath,  and  gradually  evaporated  away,  leaving 
these  wax  relics  of  the  event.  And  this  theory  has 
more  than  one  supporter.  There  are  scientists  who 
boldly  assert  that  beeswax  would  not  stand  the  test  of 
the  ages  since  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  left  there 
by  the  unfortunate  wreck  of  the  ship ;  that  it  would 
decay  and  disappear  when  affected  by  the  action  of 
the  elements.  Furthermore,  they  claim  the  substance 
is  not  of  the  same  nature  as  beeswax. 

This  difference  of  opinion  has  divided  the  residents 
and  visitors,  and  as  many  can  be  found  to  support  one 
theory  as  the  other.  So  deeply  has  this  mineral  wax 
argument  become  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  many 
that  work  of  drilling  for  oil  has  actually  been  pursued 
for  many  years.  The  promoters  of  this  enterprise, 
with  J.  J.  Walter  as  the  leading  spirit,  believe  that 
there  is  a  channel  of  oil  somewhere  beneath  the  sur- 
face and,  once  reached,  it  would  supply  a  practically 
inexhaustible  quantity  of  this  valuable  kind  of  oil.  A 
complete  drilling  outfit  was  installed  in  the  sand  hill 
district,  and  about  a  half  mile  back  from  the  ocean, 
under  the  direction  of  an  expert.  The  appearance  of 
this  outfit  enthused  the  residents  of  the  valley,  and 
raised  the  hope  that  oil  would  be  discovered  and  the 
channel  tapped.  It  was  in  September,  1910,  that  oper- 
ations were  started,  and  the  drilling  machinery  was  a 
source  of  much  curiosity  and  interest  to  people  for 
miles  around.  The  expense  and  inconvenience  of  ship- 
ping the  outfit  to  the  scene  was  a  discouraging  under- 
taking, but  the  men  behind  the  project  had  faith  in 
it,  and  spared  no  expense  in  making  a  thorough  tost. 
One  feature  that  handicapped  the  operation  of  the  drill 
was  the  distance  from  repairs  and  the  time  required  to 
ship  new  material  from  Portland  to  the  scene.    Extra 


54  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

equipment  was  kept  on  hand  all  the  time,  but  well 
drilling  is  not  entirely  a  picnic. 

The  drill  penetrated  to  the  depth  of  about  700  feet 
when  oil  indications  were  first  observed.  A  pressure  of 
gas  was  discovered,  and  flame  from  the  mouth  of  the 
well  frequently  burned  high  in  the  air.  This  encour- 
aged the  operators  and  spurred  them  to  renewed  vigor. 
Day  after  day  the  work  continued,  frequently  inter- 
rupted by  the  lack  of  material,  but  these  delays  only 
increased  the  ardor  of  the  people  interested.  The  oper- 
ations attracted  visitors  from  far  and  near,  and,  from 
the  indications,  no  one  doubted  the  presence  of  oil  in 
richly  paying  quantities.  Farther  down  in  the  earth, 
through  rock  formations  and  sandstone,  the  drill  sank, 
until  at  the  depth  of  about  1,000  feet  indications  were 
found  again.  This  time  they  were  even  better  than  at 
the  higher  level.  More  gas  forced  its  way  to  the  sur- 
face, and  sheets  of  flame  reached  high  in  the  rigging  of 
the  drill  when  fire  came  in  contact  with  it.  Here,  also, 
some  oil  was  taken  from  the  drillings,  and  everyone 
thought  the  drill  was  in  close  proximity  to  the  rich 
channel.  And  it  might  have  been,  as  far  as  can  be 
told.  It  might  be  that  the  drillers  made  a  mistake  in 
not  blasting  at  this  point,  with  the  hope  of  breaking 
through  the  wall  that  separated  the  drill  from  the 
channel. 

But  the  operations  were  continued.  The  drill  sank 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  oil-bearing  formations  until 
they  were  finally  lost.  At  the  depth  of  about  1,500  feet 
it  became  apparent  that  the  drill  was  not  following  the 
proper  course.  It  was  removed,  and  tests  showed  it 
had  been  turned  to  one  side.  This  condition  arose  from 
the  fact  that  the  experts  had  not  expected  it  would  be 
necessary  to  go  deeper  than  a  thousand  feet,  and  had 
not  carried  the  hole  to  a  diameter  to  permit  deeper 
penetration.    An  attempt  was  made  to  pull  the  casing, 


BEESWAX  STORY  DOUBTED  55 

and  it  broke  at  the  depth  of  600  feet,  completely  block- 
ing any  plans  for  continuing  operations. 

The  company  planned  to  continue  drilling  at  an- 
other place  a  short  distance  from  the  former  hole. 
Considerable  money  had  been  spent  in  the  work  up  to 
this  time,  and  lacked  more  to  carry  out  its  plans. 


The  Treasure  Ship. 

Indian  narrative  brings  to  us  a  story  hinting  of 
buried  treasure  on  the  slope  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Moun- 
tain. It  is  enough  of  a  hint  to  fire  the  imagination 
of  the  story  writer  and  the  seeker  for  gold,  and  in  this 
speculative  quest  for  wealth  we  can  equal  in  zeal  the 
old-time  followers  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  For  more 
than  a  half  century  the  treasure  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  has 
been  the  lodestone  for  multitudes.  It  began  with  the 
day  the  natives  living  in  the  Nehalem  Valley  told  the 
first  white  settler  of  the  wrecked  beeswax  ship  and 
the  chest  or  box  packed  by  several  stalwart  sailors  from 
the  ship  to  the  mountain  side,  where  it  was  buried  with 
a  ceremony  differing  in  detail  according  to  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  teller. 

The  Indians  living  today  relate  a  story,  as  told  to 
them  by  their  fathers,  of  the  beeswax  ship,  and  add 
the  further  fact  that  a  chest  or  box  was  taken  from 
the  ill-fated  vessel  and  buried  on  the  mountain.  Some 
natives  seem  to  have  told  the  earlier  settlers  of  three 
ships  engaging  in  battle.  It  was  presumed  from  this 
that  one  of  them  was  a  pirate  ship  and  carried  the 
treasure ;  while  the  others  were  merchant  ships,  one 
of  which  carried  the  beeswax.  The  story,  as  told  by 
Mrs.  Gervais,  accounts  for  only  one  ship,  and  that  car- 


56  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

ried  b6th  the  mysterious  cargoes.  AVhether  it  was  a 
pirate  vessel  or  one  destined  for  the  Orient,  or  from 
the  Orient,  will  always  remain  a  mystery.  Weird  tales 
of  piracy  have  frequently  crept  into  the  story.  Some 
claim  it  was  laden  with  treasure  stolen  from  the 
churches  of  Mexico,  South  America  and  Oriental  coun- 
tries. According  to  the  most  authentic  story  from  the 
Indian  ancestors,  there  was  only  one  chest  taken  to  the 
hiding  place  on  the  mountain  side. 

Many  men  have  been  engaged  in  the  hunt  for  the 
treasure  and,  as  a  result,  several  indications  of  visits 
from  white  men  in  the  centuries  past  have  been  found. 
Not  far  from  the  shore,  and  near  the  Tavern,  the  hotel 
conducted  by  S.  G.  Reed,  owner  of  the  mountain  and 
adjoining  property,  is  a  rock  upon  which  strange  mark- 
ings have  been  found.  Most  of  these  markings  were 
put  there  a  long  time  ago,  and  ofiPered  the  first  hint 
to  the  earliest  searchers,  a  clue  to  the  hidden  gold. 
This  rock  weighs  more  than  two  hundred  pounds  and 
could  not  have  been  placed  there  by  some  mischiev- 
ously inclined  individual,  because  it  is  too  much  of  a 
load  for  a  practical  joke.  On  the  flat  surface  of  the 
rock  the  mysterious  characters  were  chiseled.  The 
letter  W  with  a  cross  on  each  side,  the  letters  D  E 
with  eight  dots  beside  them,  and  below  all  an  arrow 
pointing  to  the  slope  of  the  mountain  are  the  first  of 
the  keys  discovered  by  the  hunters  with  which  they 
hoped  to  unlock  the  secret.  A  short  distance  from  this 
rock,  a  smaller  one  was  found  with  an  arrow  and  two 
dots,  the  arrow  pointing  to  the  larger  rock  mentioned 
above. 

Farther  up  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain  other  rock 
markings  have  been  found,  all  of  which  are  thought  to 
be  associated  with  those  discovered  nearer  the  beach. 
Pat  Smith,  one  of  the  hunters  devoting  the  greatest 
amount  of  time  in  quest  of  the  treasure,  found  a  rock 


THE    TREASURE    SHIP  57 

buried  on  the  mountain  side  not  far  from  the  higher 
markings,  upon  which  a  plat  had  been  cut.  Taking  all 
these  strange  markings  together  there  is  no  wonder 
men  have  drawn  the  conclusion  that  they  can  solve  the 
mystery  of  where  the  treasure  is  buried.  Those  who 
pursued  the  search,  while  the  last  of  the  Indians  were 
here,  found  little  assistance  from  them.  All  they  could 
tell  was  the  story,  vague  and  doubtful,  which  they  had 
received  from  the  generations  that  were  gone.  No 
Indian  is  supposed  to  have  been  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  value  of  gold  and  silver  to  associate  the  chest 
or  box  with  wealth.  Besides  this  ignorance  of  values, 
there  is  another  reason  explaining  why  the  natives  did 
not  bother  the  treasure.  It  was  the  natural  fear  these 
people  had  of  the  dead. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  crew  of  the  treasure  ship 
was  a  negro,  the  color  of  whose  skin  was  as  much  a 
mystery  to  the  Indians  as  the  white  flesh  of  the  other 
members  of  the  crew.  Up  to  this  time,  neither  white 
man  nor  negro  had  been  seen  by  the  natives.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Indian  story,  the  crew  dug  a  deep 
hole  in  which  the  treasure  chest  or  box  was  lowered. 
Then  they  killed  the  negro  and  placed  his  body  upon 
the  chest;  a  scene  that  impressed  the  Indians  more 
than  any  other  thing  could  have  done  and  one  that 
assured  the  safety  of  the  treasure  from  them.  No 
people  have  a  more  sacred  fear  of  the  dead  than  these 
natives  and,  somehow  or  other,  the  white  visitors  dis- 
covered this  fact.  The  chest  and  body  of  the  negro 
were  then  covered  with  earth  and  the  crew  separated, 
four  going  north  and  the  remainder  building  cabins. 

From  this  point  in  the  story,  the  narrative  of  the 
Indian  is  silent.  Whether  the  remaining  members  of 
the  crew  ever  visited  the  burial  place  of  the  treasure 
or  whether  it  was  later  visited  by  others,  is  a  blank 
as  far  as  native  history  is  concerned.   Whether  the  na- 


58  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

tives  ever  told  the  subsequent  white  men  coming  here, 
causing  them  to  search  for  the  gold,  is  not  known, 
but  the  new  comers,  during  the  past  century,  have 
been  given  all  the  information  possessed  by  them,  but 
it  is  so  meager  that  nothing  can  be  gained. 

The  history  of  the  search  for  the  treasure  is  as 
interesting  as  the  story  itself.  It  begins  way  back  in 
the  days  of  the  first  white  visitor  to  this  valley.  It 
has  not  ended  yet  and  will  not  end  until  some  con- 
vincing proof  has  been  offered.  Just  who  did  the  first 
work  on  the  mountain  side  is  hard  to  tell,  but  the 
labors  have  not  been  confined  alone  to  people  living 
in  the  neighborhood.  Men  have  come  from  Idaho, 
Iowa,  Missouri  and  many  of  the  coast  states.  Some 
have  spent  a  summer  in  their  endeavors;  others  have 
devoted  years.  Other  than  the  markings  upon  the 
rocks,  little  encouragement  has  been  found  for  any 
of  them.  Nearly  every  device  known  to  man  has 
been  tried  to  locate  the  spot  where  those  shipwrecked 
mariners  placed  their  gold,  but,  so  far  all  have  proven 
in  vain.  Spiritualism,  higher  mathematics  and  about 
everything  else  were  the  mediums  by  which  the  men 
worked.  The  side  of  the  mountain  can  testify  to 
their  persistency  and  convictions. 

Many  years  ago,  a  stranger  from  Idaho  appeared 
in  these  parts  and  made  his  way  to  the  mountain.  He 
confided  his  secret  to  only  a  chosen  few,  but  it  did  not 
take  the  residents  long  to  discover  his  object.  He 
knew  just  where  the  treasure  was  buried.  Those  to 
whom  he  had  confided  spread  the  news  that  the 
spirits  were  guiding  this  hunter  and  he  knew  the 
exact  location  of  the  chest.  The  result  of  his  announce- 
ment was  the  frequent  gathering  of  a  large  audience  to 
witness  the  labors  of  the  gold  hunter.  Local  sports- 
men saw  a  chance  to  speculate  a  little  and  bets  were 
made  that  he  would  or  would  not  find  the  treasure. 


THE    TREASURE    SHIP  59 

He  did  not,  but  he  was  one  of  those  with  the  courage 
of  his  convictions.  He  staid  at  the  task  like  a  dog  to 
a  root;  spent  a  whole  summer  digging  high  up  on  the 
side  of  the  mountain  where  the  spirits  had  mapped 
out  the  location  for  him.  The  result  of  these  opera- 
tions was  his  arrival  at  solid  rock  where  digging  was 
temporarily  suspended.  The  depth  of  this  shaft  was 
close  to  thirty  feet,  a  distance  no  sea  loving  pirate  or 
sailor  of  any  kind  would  go  to  bury  treasure.  But 
the  spirits  had  located  the  treasure  there  and  there  it 
must  be,  according  to  his  idea. 

Others  came  and  went.  Cattle  buyers  from  the 
regions  of  the  Columbia  took  turns  until  the  side  of 
the  mountain  was  gophered  with  holes  of  various 
depths,  depending  entirely  upon  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
diggers.  The  most  persistent  of  all  the  chasers  of  this 
elusive  storehouse  of  wealth  was  Pat  Smith,  who  fol- 
lowed a  course  of  mathematical  precision.  He  spent 
about  nine  years  in  all  hunting  for  the  location  and 
did  some  extensive  excavating  in  the  spots  his 
arithmetical  deductions  lead  him.  Smith  appeared  on 
the  scene  early  in  the  game.  E.  H.  Lane,  owner  of 
Manzanita  Beach,  gave  him  the  use  of  a  piece  of  land 
where  he  built  a  cabin  in  which  he  spent  his  summers, 
either  following  the  trail  of  his  calculations  or  ex- 
cavating at  the  end  of  the  rainbow  they  caused  him 
to  chase.  Visitors  at  the  Lane  cottage  and  neighbors 
in  that  section  tried  many  times  to  follow  him  to  dis- 
cover his  system  of  reckoning  or  learn  of  the  place 
where  he  was  working,  but  he  lead  them  a  merry  chase 
before  finally  eluding  them.  He  never  confided  his 
secrets  to  any;  not  even  to  Mr.  Lane,  with  whom  he 
was  most  friendly  because  of  the  many  favors  the  lat- 
ter had  shown  him.  He  kept  his  plans  and  scenes  of 
operations  to  himself  and,  apparently,  was  jealous  for 


60  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

fear  someone  should  discover  his  secret  and  forestall 
him  before  the  treasure  should  be  uncovered. 

Year  after  year,  through  nine  laborious  summers 
and  the  same  number  of  winters,  he  toiled  at  the  work 
with  the  determination  to  win.  The  long  winters 
were  frequently  spent  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tilla- 
mook Bay,  where  he  gathered  the  grubstake  for  the 
succeeding  campaign  after  treasure.  Many  people 
came  here  to  witness  him  at  work;  the  news  of  the 
determined  fight  he  was  making  spread  throughout  the 
country.  The  newspapers  featured  the  story  and  this 
brought  others  to  seek  the  Eldorado,  all  of  whom  had 
a  special  theory  of  his  own  upon  which  to  work.  At 
intervals  through  this  long  siege  of  the  mountain  side 
there  were  varying  numbers  of  competitors  in  the 
field,  but  Smith  was  the  only  one  to  back  his  theory 
by  actual  bull-dog  tenacity.  Even  to  this  day,  he  still 
dreams  of  the  pursuit.  Though  old  and  somewhat 
enfeebled,  he  has  figured  the  rough  plat  he  dug  from 
the  mountain  side  through  and  through  and  now  has 
the  spot  located  within  a  very  small  area.  He  feels  the 
itching  for  the  pick  and  shovel  again  and  longs  to 
hear  the  clank  of  metal  against  the  hidden  rocks — a 
sure  sign  that  the  fever  of  the  quest  for  the  mysterious, 
once  fastened  upon  a  person,  never  dies. 

Perhaps  the  nearest  one  who  ever  approached  secur- 
ing the  treasure,  of  all  those  taking  a  hand  at  the 
game  in  the  early  days,  was  William  Snyder.  He  had 
it  once,  but — well,  it  slipped  away.  Snyder  tells  of 
how  he  secured  the  treasure  and  how  he  gave  up  the 
search.  It  was  many  years  ago  when  he  decided  to 
cast  his  lot  among  those  who  wanted  to  get  rich  by 
simply  digging  up  the  huge  chest  buried  there  centuries 
ago.  He  studied  the  two  engraved  rocks  near  where 
the  Tavern  now  stands  and  decided  it  possessed  the 
essential  key  to  the  situation.    Eight  dots  in  the  di- 


THE    TREASURE    SHIP  61 

rection  of  the  arrow  meant  something.  Whether  these 
were  eight  feet,  paces,  rods  or  miles,  no  one  could 
tell,  but  the  second  rock  had  two  dots  and  an  arrow 
pointing  to  the  larger  rock  and  this  meant  something 
as  well.  The  only  way  to  find  out  and,  incidentally, 
to  secure  the  treasure  was  to  dig,  and  dig  he  did.  He 
did  some  scientific  excavating  around  the  larger  rock, 
but  found  nothing.  He  then  went  to  the  smaller  rock, 
the  one  with  the  two  dots  upon  it,  and  dug  some  more. 
The  result  was  the  same.  Then  he  dug  a  sizable 
trench  between  the  two  rocks.  He  went  as  deep  as 
he  thought  any  sailor  would  dig — he  had  met  sailors 
before  and  knew  their  love  for  work  on  shore— and 
spent  several  days  exercising  his  muscles.  It  was  in 
the  summer,  but  the  breezes  from  the  ocean  cooled  his 
brow  and  invigorated  him.  He  was  not  in  the  least 
secretive  about  his  plans  and  invited  inspection. 

His  labor  of  connecting  the  two  rocks  with  the 
trench  was  about  completed  when  his  pick  hit  a  rock 
buried  quite  deep.  He  removed  some  of  the  dirt  from 
the  top  of  it  and  hit  it  again  with  his  pick.  A  deep 
hollow  sound  was  the  result.  He  had  found  the 
treasure.  Rocks  with  hollow  sounds  were  not  found 
under  ground  and  this  must  be  the  sign  that  the  work 
was  to  end  in  success.  He  redoubled  his  efforts  and 
the  dirt  flew  from  the  trench  in  clouds  and  the  rock 
was  soon  uncovered.  It  still  continued  to  give  forth 
hollow  sounds  as  though  to  encourage  him.  Then,  with 
all  the  strength  he  could  muster,  he  lifted  the  rock. 
It  was  a  heavy  one  and  some  task  for  one  man,  but  he 
lifted  it  and  underneath  he  found— a  beaver  had 
tunnelled  under  the  rock,  leaving  a  hollow  space  which 
had  caused  the  sound  when  his  pick  hit  the  rock. 
Snyder  threw  his  pick  and  shovel  from  the  trench  as 
far  as  he  could,  slowly  climbed  out  and  has  since  loft 
the  field  clear  for  anyone  desiring  the  treasure. 


62  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

But  those  with  theories  of  their  own  have  not  all 
tried  their  luck.  Each  summer  finds  someone  ''casu- 
ally" meandering  over  the  beautiful  slope  of  the  moun- 
tain, once  in  a  while  drinking  for  a  moment  of  the 
magnificent  view  out  over  the  Pacific,  but  most  of  the 
time  glancing  around  for  some  new  mark  they  had 
figured  would  be  the  key.  Before  this  story  shall  be 
given  to  the  public,  one  or  more  treasure  hunters  may 
be  following  the  footsteps  of  others  and  adding  other 
interesting  chapters  to  the  story.  One  of  them  may 
find  it;  someone  may  yet  laugh  at  those  who  have 
scorned  the  quest.  The  entire  property  is  owned  by  S. 
G.  Reed,  but  those  desiring  to  try  a  hand  need  have  no 
fear  that  he  will  compete  with  them.  Mr.  Reed  has 
both  hands  full  assisting  nature  in  making  Neah-Kah- 
Nie  one  of  the  most  beautiful  summer  resorts  on  the 
coast. 

The  breadth  of  imagination  injected  into  the  different 
phases  of  the  story  is  interesting  and  wonderful.  The 
early  pioneer  had  plenty  of  time  during  the  winter 
months  to  ponder  over  the  mystery  and,  as  a  result, 
one  can  find  any  kind  of  story  to  suit  his  needs.  One 
pioneer  tells,  with  all  the  certainty  of  truth,  of  meet- 
ing a  man  who  had  come  here  from  Missouri,  lured  by 
the  treasure  story,  and  this  man  had  a  half  sack  full 
of  gold  coins.  He  asserts  the  Missouri  stranger  told 
of  the  search,  of  his  success  and  of  his  inability  to  pack 
out  the  entire  harvest  of  wealth  at  one  trip.  The  pio- 
neer was  informed  where  the  remainder  of  the  treasure 
could  be  found,  but  he  did  not  care  to  secure  it.  The 
truthfulness  of  the  pioneer  is  sadly  questioned  by  the 
most  gluttonous  of  story  seekers.  Others  go  so  far  as 
to  hint  that  the  treasure  was  removed  by  a  company 
interested  in  the  early  founding  of  Astoria. 

There  is  sufficient  of  interest,  plenty  of  food  for 
imagination,  and  certain  earmarks  of  truth  about  the 


THE    TREASURE    SHIP  63 

story  to  lend  an  enchantment  to  the  spot.  It  invites 
the  imaginative  or  the  realist  to  such  a  degree  that 
time  can  never  efface  the  belief  that  somewhere,  on 
the  broad  slope  of  the  mountain,  there  is  a  mystery- 
awaiting  solution.  The  natural  love  of  romance  and 
desire  for  the  picturesque  will  hold  all  humanity  to  this 
belief,  and  there  will  always  be  those  who  will  refuse 
to  doubt  the  story  until  some  better  explanation  of 
these  odd  signs  has  been  given.  Tliere  have  been  no 
attempts  to  discover  the  treasure  during  the  past  ten 
years.  ^lost  of  the  heav}^  work  is  done  in  the  cottages 
dotting  the  five  miles  of  beach,  at  the  pleasant  summer 
hotels  during  dull  days,  or  at  E.  G.  Kardell's  store, 
where  the  lovers  of  romance  linger  by  hours  in  un- 
satisfied speculation. 

The  treasure  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  may  never  be  un- 
earthed ;  there  may  be  no  treasure  buried  there.  But 
sometime  in  the  dim  past  someone  visited  this  shore  and 
left  these  signs. 


Eaxly  White  Settlers. 

The  valley  of  the  Nehalem  River  was  early  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  richest  in  the  west,  but  the  rugged 
mountains  on  three  sides  and  the  Pacific  on  the  fourth 
made  its  conquest  difficult  and  slow.  Like  a  stage,  set 
for  a  great  industrial  opera,  the  Nehalem  Valley  forms 
an  amphitheater.  The  mountains  to  the  north,  east  and 
south  form  the  seats  from  which  the  world  can  watch 
its  development,  and  the  rich  and  fertile  valley  offering 
the  stage  where  the  skill,  the  enterprise  and  the  wealth 
of  a  nation  can  play.  It  was  this  great  natural  barrier 
of  mountains  that  lield  l)ack  tlie  tide  of  conquest  and 
stopped  the  forward  march  of  the  pioneer  in  his  ad- 


64  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

vancement  to  the  west  until  about  1862.  Even  though 
the  wealth  of  agricultural  land,  timber  and  fisheries 
was  known  years  before,  the  possibility  of  overcoming 
these  obstacles  and  placing  these  wealths  in  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world  was  small.  The  Coast  Range  is  pre- 
cipitous, affording  few  passes  through  which  enterprise 
would  dare  to  enter.  In  fact,  in  the  early  development 
of  the  valley,  the  pioneer  was  forced  to  make  his 
weary  way  along  the  ocean  front,  across  the  rugged 
sides  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain  and  through  the  path- 
less forests  to  Astoria  or  Skipanon,  near  the  present 
city  of  Warrenton — either  this  long  and  rugged  road, 
or  await  the  appearance  of  a  small  schooner  plying 
the  coast  and  daring  the  dangers  of  Tillamook  bar,  an 
incident  happening  not  more  than  twice  a  year. 

The  Astor  Company  sent  agents  into  this  section 
trading  with  the  Indians,  but  their  visits  were  spas- 
modic ;  their  trips  only  for  trade,  and  offered  no  oppor- 
tunity for  permanent  settlement.  They  served,  how- 
ever, as  messengers,  carrying  to  the  outside  world  the 
story  of  wealth  contained  here.  Whether  other  white 
visitors  came  here  in  the  earlier  days  no  one  can  tell. 
The  Indians  only  refer  to  one  company  of  men  wrecked 
on  the  beach,  the  survivors  of  the  fabled  Treasure 
Ship.  But  beyond  these  even  the  native  legend  is 
silent. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  cannot  be  fixed  with 
any  degree  of  certainty.  The  earliest  pioneers  to  make 
their  homes  here  were  John  Crawford  and  Jack  Keaton. 
The  former  took  up  a  homestead  on  the  sunny  slopes 
of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain,  and  the  latter  settled 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river  between  the  present  loca- 
tion of  Wheeler  and  Mohler.  Crawford  proved  up  on 
his  claim  in  1867,  and  moved  to  Tillamook.  Keaton 
came  here  from  Tillamook,  where  his  folks  resided, 
and  devoted  his  attention  to  cattle  raising.    Just  which 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS       65 

of  these  two  pioneers  came  to  the  valley  first  is  hard 
to  tell,  but  it  seems  a  certainty  that  they  were  the  real 
and  earliest  of  the  white  people  to  brave  the  disadvan- 
tages of  the  little  paradise  that  was  almost  shut  out 
from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

In  1868,  there  was  quite  an  addition  to  the  popula- 
tion of  the  valley.  Henry  Downing  came  here  and 
settled  at  the  mouth  of  Coal  Creek  back  of  the  tide- 
lands,  on  the  place  taken  up  a  year  before  by  Charles 
Robinson  and  where  A.  S.  Tilden  now  resides.  John 
Hunt  came  here  that  year  also,  and  took  up  a  claim 
on  the  tidelands  between  Nehalem  and  Mohler.  He 
and  Downing  devoted  their  time  to  hunting,  and  found 
the  district  especially  adapted  to  this  business.  They 
packed  the  hides  out  over  the  mountains  to  Astoria 
or  to  Tillamook,  from  whence  they  were  transported 
to  the  eastern  markets.  Hunt  is  said  to  have  com- 
mitted suicide  while  on  a  hunting  trip  to  the  God's 
Valley  district  after  he  had  been  here  a  few  years. 
About  the  same  time  George  Dean  took  up  a  claim  at 
the  forks  of  the  river,  and  later  went  to  Neah-Kah-Nie. 
He  spent  some  time  here,  and  then  settled  at  what  is 
now  Dean's  Point.  The  first  real  settlement  in  what 
is  now  Nehalem  was  by  Sam  Corwin  and  Sam  Richard- 
son. The  former  made  his  home  on  the  north  slope 
of  the  hill,  his  house  standing  near  the  log  house  ruin 
on  J.  W.  Thompson's  block.  Corwin  lived  there  for  a 
short  time,  but  did  not  remain  long  enough  to  prove 
up.  He  made  a  deal  with  Henry  Ober  whereby  the 
latter  took  the  place  and  lived  there  for  several  years. 
This  claim  included  the  present  townsite  of  Nehalem. 

Until  1870  there  were  no  other  additions  to  the 
residents  of  the  valley.  During  this  year  William  Sny- 
der, Robert  Crawford  and  S.  K.  Scovell  entered  the 
paradise  and  took  up  claims.  Snyder  settled  at  the 
lake  on  what  is  now  known  as  Classic  Ridge;  Craw- 


66  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

ford  decided  to  brave  the  forests  and  took  up  his  claim 
about  six  miles  from  the  present  city  of  Nehalem  on 
the  north  fork  of  the  river,  and  Scovell  also  cast  his 
lot  up  the  North  Pork,  on  the  place  now  occupied  by 
his  son,  Steven  Scovell.  These  additions  to  the  new- 
district  made  the  terrors  of  pioneer  lonesomeness  less 
discouraging,  and  a  social  attitude  was  assumed.  It 
was  not  an  easy  matter  to  travel  from  place  to  place. 
Roads  were  unknown  and  paths  through  the  forest  were 
hard  and  dangerous.  Climbing  over  fallen  trees  and 
penetrating  the  heavy  undergrowth  was  neither  inter- 
esting nor  pleasant ;  yet  the  pioneers  laughed  at  these 
inconveniences.  With  the  same  grim  determination 
that  has  overcome  all  difficulties,  they  cleared  the 
heavily  timbered  land  and  built  their  homes.  In  this 
conquest,  millions  of  feet  of  the  finest  fir  and  spruce 
timber  was  cut  down  and  burned,  there  being  no  other 
way  of  disposing  of  it.  The  first  saw  mill  erected  in 
the  valley  was  furnished  logs  free  in  order  that  the 
settlers  could  more  easily  dispose  of  the  immense  tim- 
ber that  was  withholding  their  agricultural  develop- 
ment. The  same  timber,  which  is  of  such  great  value 
at  the  present  time,  was  a  nuisance  then. 

It  was  not  until  1870  that  the  government  recog- 
nized this  district  as  one  of  sufficient  importance  to  be 
given  mail  service.  In  August  of  that  year,  weekly 
mail  was  delivered  to  the  settlers.  The  carrier  fol- 
lowed the  old  Seaside  Trail  and  crossed  Neah-Kah-Nie 
Mountain,  following  the  same  route  used  for  so  many 
years  until  the  railroad  invaded  the  valley.  It  was  a 
tough  trip  and  required  nerve  and  hardihood  to  with- 
stand the  rigors  of  winter  on  this  lonesome  stretch  of 
country  after  leaving  the  little  Indian  settlement  of 
Skipanon  on  the  Columbia  River.  The  first  habitation 
after  leaving  the  big  river  and  for  miles  before  reach- 
ing the  Nehalem  country  was  that  of  John  Crawford, 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS       67 

at  Neali-Kah-Nie,  and,  after  he  abandoned  his  place, 
that  of  William  Snyder,  at  (lassie  Ridge,  was  the 
haven.  The  same  service  extended  through  to  Tillamook, 
following  Garibaldi  Beach  to  Garibaldi,  where  it  was 
transferred  in  bay  boats  to  the  various  points  in  that 
district.  It  was  not  until  about  ten  years  later  that 
the  Tillamook  County  settlers  increased  in  numbers 
sufficiently  to  warrant  the  government  increasing  the 
service  to  two  deliveries  a  week. 

The  difficulty  in  securing  provisions  and  necessary 
supplies  was  one  handicap  to  the  rapid  settlement  of 
the  valley.  The  housewife  who  now  goes  to  the  store 
to  buy  the  household  supplies  and  a  few  luxuries  does 
not  realize  the  hardship  of  the  housewife  of  forty  years 
ago.  That  pioneer  mother  found  few  extras  in  the 
family  larder,  and  the  boys  and  girls  knew  little  of 
the  taste  of  candies  and  the  sweetmeats  of  our  pres- 
ent life.  Supplies  were  hard  to  transport  here,  and 
every  pound  counted  when  the  head  of  the  family  had 
to  pack  it  for  miles  through  the  dismal  forest  or  along 
the  lonesome  beach.  The  pioneers  assert  that,  while 
the  actual  cost  of  supplies  was  greater  then,  they  saved 
more  money  in  proportion  than  at  present,  for  luxuries 
were  tabooed ;  nothing  but  the  actual  needs  of  life 
were  secured.  Two  means  of  getting  supplies  were 
opened  to  the  settlers,  either  one  of  which  would  have 
discouraged  the  present  generation.  About  twice  a 
year  a  small  schooner  made  its  way  across  the  Tilla- 
mook bar  and  tied  up  at  Garibaldi.  The  approximate 
date  of  sailing  of  the  vessel  was  made  known  to  the 
settlers,  and  they  sent  their  orders  to  Portland  and 
Astoria  in  time  for  shipmont,  and  unfortunate  was  the 
man  who  failed  in  this  important  task.  This  once  in 
six  months,  perhaps,  freight  service  was  something  to 
be  considered.  Should  a  settler  fail  to  place  his  order 
in  time  to  be  shipped  on  the  schooner,  it  was  six  months 


68  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

before  another  came,  and  he  was  forced  to  resort  to 
the  long  and  tiresome  trail  across  the  mountains  to  the 
Columbia  River  for  his  supplies. 

Each  settler  secured  six  months '  supplies  at  a  time, 
and  it  was  remarkable  to  note  how  closely  they  could 
figure  on  the  amount  needed.  When  you  come  to  con- 
sider that  every  article  to  be  used,  which  was  not  pro- 
duced on  the  farm,  must  be  provided  for  a  half  year 
ahead,  it  took  some  close  figuring  and  a  good  memory 
to  include  them  all  in  just  the  proper  amount.  There 
were  flour,  beans,  cloth,  thread,  pins,  needles  and  a 
score  more  of  kitchen  and  household  needs,  even  down 
to  spices  and  extracts,  if  mother  wanted  to  make  a 
cake  for  some  special  event.  There  were  sugar,  molasses 
and  all  those  other  things,  even  to  that  necessity  of  the 
master  of  the  house — tobacco.  Who  could  go  through 
six  months  of  hard  grubbing  around  stumps  and  clear- 
ing the  rugged  land  without  the  solace  of  a  chew  or 
smoke  ?  But  few  luxuries  were  brought  into  the  valley, 
and  Santa  Claus  seldom  found  the  little  folks  in  the 
almost  unbroken  wilderness.  The  girls  and  boys,  who 
torment  father  and  mother  today  for  more  of  the 
luxuries  and  finery  to  which  they  are  accustomed, 
should  remember  the  hardships  of  the  young  folks  in 
the  infancy  of  their  community  and  the  privations 
they  underwent  in  laying  the  foundation  for  the  pres- 
ent ease  and  comfort.  Many  a  boy  has  spent  his  days 
helping  his  father  clear  the  land  and  withstood  the 
hard  labor  of  the  farm;  while  the  youth  today  is  de- 
voting his  time  to  pleasure  and  profitless  pastime. 
Girls,  too,  gathered  the  roses  in  their  cheeks  helping 
their  mothers  about  the  house  or  in  the  garden,  and 
did  not  have  to  resort  to  the  red  paint  and  powder 
to  augment  the  work  nature  does.  They  exercised 
their  muscles  at  the  washtub  instead  of  in  gymnasiums ; 
learned  to  cook  and  wash  dishes  instead  of  the  art  of 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS       69 

the  conquest  of  man,  and  blossomed  into  natural  beauty 
and  health  without  the  assistance  of  the  drug  store. 
Those  were  the  days  that  made  real  manhood  and 
womanhood. 

The  pioneers  were  undaunted.  The  dangers  of  Ne- 
halem  bar  had  not  been  solved  by  the  small  boats 
plying  the  Oregon  coast.  Only  the  Indians  had  dared 
the  uncertain  waters,  and  the  only  means  of  trans- 
portation was  to  Garibaldi,  on  Tillamook  Bay,  and 
packing  from  there  up  the  beach.  For  this  reason, 
the  settlers  did  not  order  anything  unnecessary  to  in- 
crease the  w^eight  of  the  burden.  From  Garibaldi,  the 
shipments  for  Nehalem  were  conveyed  to  the  Smith 
ranch,  near  the  present  life  saving  station,  by  boat, 
and  from  there  it  was  a  case  of  packing  along  the  long 
stretch  of  beach  to  the  Nehalem  River  at  what  is  now 
Brighton.  Here  it  was  again  placed  in  boats  and 
taken  to  Nehalem.  It  was  a  hard  and  expensive  job. 
Packhorses  were  not  frequent  along  the  beach,  and 
most  of  the  goods  were  conveyed  on  the  backs  of  the 
owners  or  those  they  could  hire  to  do  the  work.  In- 
dians were  the  chief  residents  whose  services  could  be 
secured  for  these  events,  and  most  of  them  were  none 
too  willing  to  over-exert  themselves.  Should  the  vessel 
miss  its  usual  visit  to  Garibaldi,  it  meant  another  long 
six  months  before  provisions  could  be  secured,  or  the 
settlers  were  forced  to  tbe  other,  and  more  arduous, 
task  of  packing  supplies  from  Skipanon,  on  the  Co- 
lumbia. 

To  the  courageous  pioneer  this  alternative  was  a 
nightmare.  The  long  journey  around  Neah-Kah-Nie, 
the  stretch  of  beach  to  Elk  Creek,  and  the  uninviting 
trail  from  this  place  to  the  Columbia  were  sufficient 
to  cause  even  the  best  of  them  to  consider.  The  trail 
around  the  mountain  was  dangerous  and  constantly 
obstructed  with  fallen  trees.     In  summer  it  was  bad 


70  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

enough,  but,  when  soaked  by  the  rains  of  fall  and  win- 
ter, it  was  almost  impassable.  But  necessity  was  the 
goad;  the  prospect  of  a  season  without  supplies,  much 
less  luxuries,  was  discouraging.  Occasionally  an  In- 
dian could  be  secured  to  pack  supplies  into  the  district, 
but  the  expense  was  great.  One  pioneer,  when  the 
boat  had  failed,  paid  an  Indian  five  dollars  to  pack 
a  fifty-pound  sack  of  flour  from  the  Columbia  to  his 
home.  This  inconvenience  was  suffered  for  nearly  fif- 
teen years  before  relief  came  in  the  form  of  reliable 
and  more  frequent  boat  service.  The  establishment  of 
stores  at  Tillamook  was  of  some  help  to  the  mountain 
and  ocean-bound  homeseekers.  It  was  many  years  be- 
fore mercantile  dealers  invaded  this  valley. 

The  uncertainty  of  the  boat  service  was  the  cause 
of  another  inconvenience,  that  of  delaying  the  market- 
ing of  local  products.  Most  of  the  settlers  devoted 
their  time  to  clearing  land  and  raising  cattle.  Butter 
ivas  the  chief  product  of  the  valley.  The  day  of  cheese 
factories  was  yet  to  dawn.  The  farmers  packed  their 
butter  and  held  it  until  an  opportunity  arrived  to  ship 
it  to  the  markets.  Portland  was  the  main  market,  and 
it  was  growing  out  of  its  youth  and  assuming  consider- 
able importance  as  a  shipping  center  for  the  products 
of  the  great  Oregon  district.  This,  together  wdth  furs, 
were  the  great  medium  of  exchange  between  the  pro- 
ducers and  store  keepers.  Money  was  not  particularly 
plentiful.  It  was  not  such  a  great  necessity.  The  prod- 
ucts of  the  farm  represented  the  cash  in  hand  from 
this  section,  and  the  necessities  supplied  by  the  stores 
was  the  money  at  the  other.  Whatever  difference  there 
might  have  been  was  paid  in  coin.  The  fur  trade 
from  the  valley  was  considerable.  The  pelts  of  bear, 
wildcat,  mountain  lion  and  elk  brought  many  com- 
forts to  the  homes  in  the  new  country. 

The  development  of  cattle  raising  soon  caused  buy- 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS       71 

ers  from  along  the  Columbia  Eiver  to  pay  attention 
to  Nehalem  Valley.  Agents  came  here  and  secured 
great  bands  to  be  driven  over  the  Neah-Kah-Nie  trail 
to  the  north,  and  local  residents  frequently  handled 
the  buying  for  outside  firms.  This  served  as  an  in- 
centive for  more  cattle  raisers  to  settle  here  and,  in  a 
short  time,  the  valley  made  a  reputation  as  a  dairy 
center,  a  reputation  it  has  never  lost.  The  butter  from 
the  ranches  found  ready  demand  in  the  Portland  mar- 
ket, as  well  as  at  Astoria. 

From  1870  to  1883  there  were  few  new  members 
added  to  the  Nehalem  Valley  household.  Henry  Ober 
had  taken  up  the  claim  including  the  present  city  of 
Nehalem,  and  secured  his  patent  from  the  government 
early  in  the  seventies.  This  was  the  claim  formerly 
occupied  by  Sam  Corwin.  The  building  constructed  by 
Ober  has  been  partially  wrecked.  It  was  a  log  house 
of  modest  dimensions,  and  located  upon  the  hillside 
overlooking  the  river  far  up  to  its  forks.  Many  others 
came  in  these  thirteen  years  of  trials  and  hardships, 
but  they  surrendered  to  the  rigid  life  and  left.  It  was 
a  period  of  try-outs.  Those  with  the  courage  and  de- 
termination remained  to  reap  the  harvest  due  the  pio- 
neer, while  the  weaker  ones  retraced  their  footsteps 
to  the  land  of  ease  and  comforts.  The  law  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  was  operating  to  the  limit.  The 
man  who  sought  the  path  of  roses  found  thorns  in  the 
road  leading  through  this  garden,  and  he  turned  his 
back  on  the  land  of  opportunities.  Thus  it  has  ever 
been. 

There  was  much  grazing  ground  in  the  valley.  The 
early  Indian  residents,  unappreciative  of  the  wealth  in 
the  timber,  burned  it  to  suit  their  own  convenience. 
Grazing  ground  they  desired  for  their  ponies,  and  the 
tori'h  started  the  clearing  process.  Year  after  year 
they  burned  over  the  ground.    Year  after  year,  in  the 


72  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

fall,  when  the  underbrush  was  dry,  they  built  the  fire 
that  did  not  die  out  until  rain  checked  it  or  material 
was  completely  exhausted.  So  well  did  they  do  this 
work  that  to  this  day,  fifty  years  after,  there  is  not  a 
sign  of  vegetation,  save  only  salal  brush,  on  thousands 
of  acres  of  side  hills.  Their  constant  burning  de- 
stroyed all  form  of  plant  life,  but  the  succulent  grasses 
soon  found  their  way  in.  This  cleared  area  offered  an- 
other boon  to  the  natives.  They  did  not  possess  fire- 
arms with  which  to  bring  down  the  fleet  deer  and  elk. 
To  pursue  them  through  the  forest,  overgrown  with 
underbrush,  was  a  task  uninviting  to  one  who  so 
keenly  desired  a  life  of  ease.  The  deer  and  elk  made 
their  way  from  the  forests  into  these  cleared  areas 
where  they  were  partially  concealed  from  view  by  the 
growth  of  salal  bushes.  And  these  same  bushes  served 
also  as  a  shield  for  the  native  hunter.  With  the  pa- 
tience of  his  race,  the  man-animal  slowly  and  cau- 
tiously crept  upon  his  prey.  Carefully  parting  the 
bushes  he.  foot  by  foot,  gained  upon  the  unsuspecting 
game.  Now  advancing,  now  pausing  to  note  the  ac- 
tions of  that  which  he  sought,  the  hunter  often  spent 
hours  in  this  advance.  Finally,  gaining  the  position  he 
desired,  near  enough  to  send  the  crude  shaft  into  the 
tender  flesh  of  the  deer,  there  was  a  dull  twang  of 
the  bow.  and  the  luckless  animal  felt  the  pang  of 
death.  It  was  then  a  test  of  endurance.  The  deer, 
fleet  and  powerful,  madly  fleeing  from  the  danger, 
plunged  through  the  slender  growth  of  bushes,  fol- 
lowed by  the  less  agile  man.  It  left  a  trail  of  blood 
to  mark  the  course  it  pursued.  Eagerly  following, 
yet  never  taxing  his  strength  to  the  utmost,  the  hunter 
made  his  way.  Experience  in  the  forests  and  on  the 
brush-grown  hillsides  had  taught  him  to  conserve  his 
strength,  for  it  might  be  many  miles  before  the  wound- 
ed animal  would  lay  down  beside  a  log  in  the  last 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS        7Z 

struggle  of  life.  Often  this  chase  continued  for  hours, 
and  far  into  the  hills  and  forest  it  led.  But  the  native 
knew  his  well-directed  shot  would  conquer,  and  he 
would  find  the  victim  beside  a  fallen  log — weakened 
from  the  loss  of  blood,  the  animal  would  make  the  last 
supreme  effort  in  its  try  for  life  and  fail  to  leap  the 
obstacle  in  its  path. 

This  was  the  only  method  of  securing  game  in  the 
days  before  white  men  came  to  this  country  and  intro- 
duced the  rifle.  The  race  for  life,  on  the  part  of  the 
deer,  and  for  food,  on  the  part  of  the  man,  was  fre- 
quently run;  and  the  victor  was  invariably  the  keen 
and  persistent  hunter.  Throughout  the  entire  Tilla- 
mook County,  in  those  parts  bordering  on  the  ocean 
and  bays,  this  same  evidence  of  native  methods  of 
clearing  are  found.  The  slopes  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Moun- 
tain show  the  work,  and  the  growth  of  beautiful  trees 
now  there  is  the  product  of  a  later  generation  in 
plant  life.  This  burned  area  was  not  only  a  boon  to 
the  Indian  long  before  the  white  settlers  came,  but  it 
served  a  still  greater  purpose  to  the  whites  in  provid- 
ing grazing  grounds  for  their  cattle.  Luxuriant 
growths  of  grass  matted  the  hillsides  and  afforded 
unlimited  pasturage  for  cattle.  These  grazing  grounds 
became  the  Mecca  of  cattle  men  all  along  the  coast 
from  the  Cohnnbia  Kiver  to  the  southern  line  of  the 
Tillamook  country.  Tlie  industry  once  introduced  has 
grown  and  prospered  until  today  it  is  of  world-wide 
importance. 

But  before  we  consider  the  further  increase  in 
population  of  the  valley,  there  is  one  feature  of  this 
history  not  to  be  overlooked — the  discovery  of  coal, 
from  which  Coal  Creek  was  named.  Back  in  1867,  vis- 
itors to  the  country  had  noticed  float  coal  in  the  creek 
which  entered  the  North  Fork  at  the  Robinson  place. 
Just  wlio  made  this  discovery  is  not  definitely  known. 


74  STORIES    OF     NEHALEM 

But  from  the  year  1867  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of 
prospecting  along  the  creek,  and  several  good  beds  of 
coal  found.  The  indications  on  the  surface  promise  a 
wealth  of  undeveloped  resources  awaiting  necessary 
transportation.  The  history  of  this  work  has  been 
varied.  During  the  years  following  the  discovery, 
many  men  have  worked  in  an  effort  to  open  a  com- 
mercially wealthy  body  of  fuel  to  induce  transporta- 
tion, but  no  concentrated  effort  has  been  made.  Many 
tunnels  mark  the  enterprise  of  forty  years  ago.  Coal 
claims  were  taken  up  all  along  the  creek  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  an  early  development  of  the  hidden 
wealth.  But  during  the  past  ten  years  the  deposits 
have  practically  been  forgotten.  Among  the  early  set- 
tlers to  work  there  was  George  Dean,  who  spent  con- 
siderable time  prospecting  and  tunneling  at  various 
points.  He  unearthed  good  evidences  of  commercial 
deposits,  but  the  question  of  transporation  was  an 
ever-present  discouragement.  The  development  of 
transportation  facilities  in  the  valley  during  the  recent 
years  and  the  prospective  lines  for  the  immediate  fu- 
ture promise  to  open  this  district  to  enterprise  and 
determine  the  extent  of  this  hidden  wealth. 

The  story  of  early  white  settlers  will  not  be  com- 
plete without  the  mention  of  one  who  came  here  long 
ago.  The  date  cannot  be  reckoned  to  a  certainty,  as 
only  the  Indians  tell  of  his  coming  and  going,  and 
give  to  us  the  name  of  a  creek  with  which  to  carry 
his  memory  down  through  time.  Long  before  any 
of  the  last  settlers  can  remember  a  man  by  the  name 
of-  Foley  came  here  and  settled  near  where  the  creek 
of  that  name  enters  the  South  Fork  of  the  Nehalem 
River.  He  is  said  to  have  lived  there  for  some  time, 
but  must  have  become  tired  of  the  lonesomeness  of  life 
without  white  friends  around  him,  and  took  his  de- 
parture before  anyone  else  came.    The  natives  tell  of 


EARLY    WHITE    SETTLERS       75 

him  and  speak  of  his  friendliness  to  all.  He  built  a 
cabin  near  the  creek  now  bearing  his  name,  but  only 
the  ruin  was  left  to  mark  the  spot  when  the  people  of 
his  race  first  came  here.  From  whence  he  came  and 
where  he  went  is  not  known. 

Another  early  settler  was  Thomas  Gallagher.  The 
date  of  his  arrival  is  not  known,  but  he  was  living  in 
a  cabin  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  river  when  the  white 
folks  made  their  advent  here,  and  he  became  very  pop- 
ular among  them.  He  remained  until  the  middle  of 
the  eighties.  He  was  old  and  somewhat  enfeebled 
when  the  settlers  came,  and  evidently  had  been  here 
several  years.  Friends  missed  him  from  his  accus- 
tomed haunts  one  day,  and  inquiries  led  Henry  Tohl 
to  send  men  to  see  what  was  the  trouble.  To  their  sur- 
prise, the  aged  pioneer  was  found  dead,  and  had  evi- 
dently passed  away  about  the  time  his  absence  was 
first  noticed. 

Among  the  early  cattle  raisers  and  shippers  were 
the  four  Seely  brothers,  who  resided  at  Neah-Kah-Nie 
at  the  time  George  Dean  was  occupying  his  home  at 
Manzanita.    The  brothers  staid  only  a  short  time. 


Population  Increases. 

Another  notable  addition  was  made  to  the  popula- 
tion of  the  valley  in  the  year  1867,  and  one  that  will 
ever  be  recorded  as  a  part  of  the  true  history  of  the 
district.  While  permanent  settlers  were  slow  in  realiz- 
ing the  importance  and  opportunity  here,  the  stork 
found  its  way  in  October  of  that  year,  and  on  the 
twenty-ninth  day  of  the  month  brought  Charles  Dean 
to  the  Harry  Dean  household.    This  was  the  first  visit 


76  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

of  the  famous  bird  to  any  of  the  white  settlers  of  the 
valley,  and  Charles  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
white  child  born  here.  He  was  a  true  pioneer  and  the 
original  native  son.  It  was  rugged  pioneer  life  for  the 
boy.  Playmates  were  not  plentiful,  and  he  soon 
learned  that  this  kind  of  life  meant  two  things — hard 
work  and  fishing. 

It  was  not  until  four  years  later  that  the  stork 
again  visited  the  valley  and  left  Albert  Crawford  at  the 
residence  of  Robert  Crawford.  This  was  in  September, 
1871,  and  the  boy  was  raised  on  the  North  Fork,  where 
the  fish  were  most  plentiful.  If  there  is  anything  to 
make  the  life  of  a  boy  worth  living  it  is  fishing,  and 
Albert  indulged  in  this  form  of  sport  to  his  heart's  con- 
tent. The  North  Fork,  where  his  parents  lived,  and 
the  creeks  flowing  into  it  were  alive  with  trout,  sal- 
mon trout  and  salmon.  Albert  would  rather  go  fishing 
than  eat,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  pioneer  life  induced 
a  hearty  appetite. 

The  first  residents  of  the  valley  to  be  married  were 
Harry  Dean  and  Miss  Lavina  Keaton,  on  December  16, 
1866.  It  was  to  this  couple  that  Charles,  the  first 
white  child  in  the  valley,  was  born.  At  this  time  there 
was  no  one  in  the  Nehalem  Valley  with  authority  to 
marry  couples,  and  they  were  forced  to  go  to  Tilla- 
mook, where  the  ceremony  was  performed. 

It  was  not  until  1883  that  immigration  to  the  Neha- 
lem Valley  district  assumed  such  an  importance  as  to 
convince  the  early  settlers  of  the  wisdom  of  their  se- 
lection. The  thirteen  years  preceding  were  filled  with 
hardships  and  discouragements,  but  the  summer  of  this 
year  added  materially  to  the  population.  Of  course,  it 
was  no  sensational  growth,  nothing  to  startle  the  Avorld 
by  its  magnitude,  but  it  was  that  steady,  plodding 
growth  that  lays  the  securest  foundation  for  the  fu- 
ture; the  same  steady  growth  that  has  been  the  step- 


P  O  P  U  L  A  T  I  ON     INCREASES        77 

ping  stone  for  the  development  of  every  community, 
state  and  nation  since  the  day  when  man  first  began 
to  migrate.  Those  who  came  and  departed  saw  the 
wonderful  wealths  in  the  valley,  and  told  of  them  to 
those  they  met,  and  there  were  people  among  the  lis- 
teners who  would  not  be  discouraged  by  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  life,  Avhen  such  opportunities  were  offered, 
combined  with  such  climatic  conditions.  Those  leaving 
could  only  tell  interesting  stories  of  the  country  and 
recount  its  possibilities,  even  though  they  had  to  ex- 
plain their  quitting  because  of  the  harder  side  of  life 
here,  ^^d  those  who  heard,  knew  of  the  means  of 
overcoming  these  difficulties,  and  were  willing  to 
chance  an  early  development.  It  was  through  this 
courage  and  belief  that  the  growth  during  the  few 
years  following  1882  came  about. 

During  this  period  the  residents  of  the  valley  had 
extended  their  area  of  development.  E.  K.  Scovell, 
who  came  here  with  his  father,  took  up  a  ranch  on 
the  North  Fork  almost  adjoining  that  of  his  parents. 
He  began  clearing  and  developing  the  land,  and  took 
his  place  among  the  pioneers  of  that  district.  Mr. 
Scovell  is  now  occupying  the  place  he  took  up  more 
than  forty  years  ago,  and  has  one  of  the  finest  ranch 
homes  in  the  county.  Others  followed  this  example 
until,  with  the  addition  of  the  settlers  of  1883,  the 
river,  from  far  up  the  North  Fork  to  the  ocean,  was 
a  succession  of  slowly  developing  ranch  homes  and 
cattle  ranges.  The  hand  of  enterprise  had  not  been 
felt  as  yet.  The  stubborn  pioneers  had  cut  the  trees 
of  the  forest  and  fashioned  them  into  houses.  Less 
than  fifty  miles  away  were  finished  lumber  houses,  with 
shingled  roofs,  arranged  for  the  comfort  of  the  in- 
habitants. Over  the  mountains  were  mills  cutting  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  f(M*t  of  lumber  with  which  man 
could  build  as  he  desired.    But  here,  in  this  paradise 


7&  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

of  the  stubborn  home-builder,  every  shake  and  every 
piece  of  lumber  must  be  fashioned  by  hand.  Trans- 
portation of  building  material  was  impossible ;  it  was 
unthought  of,  and  the  wealth  in  timber  about  them 
was  a  source  of  annoyance  and  toil  instead  of  wealth. 
A  six  and  seven  foot  tree  was  a  problem  of  energy  to 
the  man  who  was  building  his  home  on  a  tract  of 
land  where  such  monsters  were  common.  Even  the 
grit  and  love  for  labor  of  the  pioneer  stood  in  awe  at 
this  insignia  of  work.  The  same  tree  that  aroused  the 
anger  and  produced  highly  explosive  language  from 
the  very  heart  of  the  early  settler,  would  be  worth  a 
ransom  today.  But  the  men  who  laid  the  foundation 
of  Nehalem  Valley's  progress  and  development  did  not 
figure  on  the  wealth  of  the  coming  day ;  it  was  the  use 
and  purpose  of  his  day,  and  when  the  monsters  stood 
in  his  path  he  either  removed  them  or  diplomatically 
went  around,  and  in  the  latter  case  no  one  can  blame 
him. 

The  year  1883  brought  several  more  permanent  set- 
tlers to  the  valley  and  established  it  as  one  of  the  most 
populous  districts  of  Tillamook  County.  Henry  Tohl 
came  in  the  summer  of  that  year  and  took  up  his  home 
on  the  place  now  owned  by  Charles  Christensen.  He 
staked  out  a  claim  and  lived  on  it  for  five  years,  after 
which  he  leased  the  Ober  place  (now  Nehalem)  and 
made  his  home  there.  About  the  same  time,  J.  M. 
Alley  and  family  took  the  homestead  now  occupied  by 
H.  V.  Alley  on  the  north  side  of  the  North  Fork.  Her- 
man Scholmeyer  was  another  to  make  a  home  here  at 
this  time.  He  settled  on  a  claim  on  the  South  Fork  of 
the  Nehalem,  where  he  now  resides.  Another  to  come 
here  during  the  summer  of  that  year  was  Herman  Tub- 
besing,  who  followed  the  footsteps  of  the  others  and 
settled  on  the  North  Fork  near  the  claim  of  Henry 
Tohl.     In  the  spring  of  1884,  William  and  Herman 


POPULATION     INCREASES        79 

Tohl  came  here  with  their  father  and  mother  and  took 
up  the  present  William  Tohl  place.  Later,  Herman 
Tohl  decided  to  branch  out  for  himself,  and  settled 
west  of  the  present  City  of  Nehalem  on  the  ranch  he 
now  owns.  It  was  here  where  the  first  schoolhouse  in 
the  valley  was  built,  and  the  fifth  in  Tillamook  County. 
Two  other  permanent  settlers  came  in  1884,  Fred  Long 
and  William  Scholmeyer  coming  from  the  old  country 
and  occupying  claims.  The  former  settled  west  of 
the  present  City  of  Nehalem  on  the  ranch  he  now  owns. 
His  selection  favorably  impressed  Mr.  Scholmeyer,  who 
hoinesteaded  on  an  abutting  claim  and  has  lived  there 
since. 

These  additions  to  the  population  of  the  valley 
awakened  the  settlers  to  the  fact  that  metropolitan 
advantages  were  necessary.  The  number  of  children 
of  school  age  had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  in- 
struction by  competent  teachers  was  imperative.  At 
first,  schools  were  opened  in  the  residences  of  some  of 
the  settlers  and  taught  by  them.  It  was  not  uncommon 
for  the  teacher  to  leave  his  task  of  grubbing  about  a 
stump,  or  some  equally  interesting  occupation,  and 
take  up  the  duties  of  book  and  rod  on  the  appearance 
of  the  children  and,  when  the  school  was  out,  resume 
the  healthy  occupation  of  a  pioneer.  He  did  not  need 
gymnastics  to  keep  himself  in  training  for  a  proper 
wielding  of  the  alder  rod  over  the  unruly  pupils,  for 
his  muscles  were  constantly  hardened  bj^  the  excess 
labor  on  the  claim.  The  books  of  instruction  were  such 
as  accidentally  found  their  way  into  the  luggage  of  the 
pioneers  when  they  moved  into  the  country,  and  one 
can  easily'  see  that  they  were  not  plentiful.  The  teacher 
frequently  possessed  a  few  books  of  his  own,  and  these 
were  judiciously  cared  for  and  cautiously  handed 
around  among  the  pupils.  Some  were  so  extravagant 
and  actually   modern  that   they  sent  to  Portland  or 


80  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

Astoria  for  books  for  their  children.  This,  however, 
was  not  the  practice  of  most  of  the  settlers  until  later 
in  the  history  of  school  life.  In  the  earlier  days,  the 
boys  were  not  as  often  spared  from  the  farm  as  at 
present,  and  the  school  year  was  rigidly  modified. 
Three  months  was  deemed  sufficient  in  which  the  chil- 
dren should  crowd  their  minds  with  learning,  and  by 
the  time  the  next  school  year  came  around  most  of 
them  had  succeeded  in  forgetting  the  lessons  of  the 
previous  term. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  constructed  of  logs  hewn 
from  timber  cut  from  the  adjoining  land.  It  is  indeed 
an  interesting  speculation  for  us,  who  are  so  accus- 
tomed to  see  mills  cutting  thousands  of  feet  in  an  hour 
— lumber  sufficient  to  construct  a  house  of  average  pro- 
portions— to  look  back  to  the  days  when  every 
piece  of  lumber  was  fashioned  from  the  log  with  an 
axe.  It  was  a  lucky  pioneer  who  found  a  few  lengths 
of  stray  lumber  washed  ashore  on  the  beach.  Even 
a  few  pieces  meant  a  saving  of  many  hours '  hard  work. 
Probably  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the  old-fash- 
ioned hand  lumber  mill  can  be  found  on  the  sidehill 
overlooking  the  river  on  the  Thompson  tract,  and  on 
what  was  the  first  homestead  in  Nehalem  City  area. 
The  walls  are  of  hewn  timbers,  all  the  rafters  hewn 
from  the  tree  with  an  axe ;  the  boards  were  split  from 
the  log,  and  even  the  shingles  were  the  product  of  the 
hand  shingle  mill.  The  old  pioneer  spent  several  days 
splitting  out  enough  shingles  to  keep  a  supply  ahead 
for  one  man  to  lay  in  one  day.  One  can  almost  realize 
the  number  of  backaches  the  preparation  of  the  lumber 
for  the  early  cabin  caused.  And,  when  we  consider 
it  was  hardly  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
when  all  this  work  was  done  by  hand,  the  great  change 
in  the  community  in  which  we  live  is  apparent.  Less 
than  thirty  years  ago  no  vessel  of  even  moderate  cargo- 


POPULATION     INCREASES        81 

carrying  proportions  had  entered  the  Nehalem  River. 
It  was  impossible  to  convey  lumber  here  in  any  other 
manner,  and  the  pioneer  had  to  get  along  the  best  he 
could.  But  timber  was  here  in  plenty,  and  all  he  had 
to  do  was  to  cut  it  himself. 

Those  living  today  assert  they  enjoyed  life  as  well 
during  those  early  times  as  we  of  the  present  day, 
and  many  of  them  say  they  were  better  off  financially. 
"We  did  not  have  luxuries  in  those  days,"  said  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers.  "They  cost  too  much,  and  it 
was  too  much  trouble  to  get  them  in.  When  we  made 
out  our  list  of  supplies  for  the  next  six  months,  for  we 
had  to  plan  that  far  ahead,  we  only  included  the  goods 
actually  needed.  Today  we  go  to  the  store  and  see  so 
many  delicacies  that,  often,  we  spend  more  for  them 
than  some  of  the  pioneers  paid  for  the  actual  necessi- 
ties of  life,"  Those  were  not  the  days  of  boiled  shirts 
and  stand-up  collars.  There  is  no  telling  what  the 
early  settlers  really  would  have  thought  of  a  man 
arrayed  in  an  outfit  of  that  kind.  The  blue  jumper 
and  overalls  for  men  and  plain  dresses  for  women 
were  all  that  one  considered  necessary. 

Socially,  there  was  little  happening  in  those  days. 
Parties  were  not  frequent,  but  there  was  never  such 
enjoyment  and  real  pleasure  as  when  the  neighbors  all 
got  together  for  an  evening  of  fun.  The  distance  be- 
tween the  homes  and  rough  trails  discouraged  social 
functions.  Fourth  of  July  was  really  the  biggest  day 
of  the  year,  bigger  by  far  than  we  make  it.  There 
were  no  big  fire  crackers,  fireworks  or  modern  inven- 
tions of  that  kind  with  which  to  celebrate,  but  the  en- 
tire population  of  the  valley  gathered  at  some  con- 
venient place  and  the  day  was  passed  in  games,  fes- 
tivities and  eating.  The  old  basket  picnic  can  never 
be  outclassed  in  our  modern  life.  Try  as  hard  as  we 
wish,  no  day  can  contain  so  much  of  real  enjoyment 


82  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

and  accomplish  so  much  good  as  those  time-honored 
picnics  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  They  were 
events  for  the  young  and  old,  and  the  pioneers  are 
never  tired  of  telling  of  the  good  times  those  days 
afforded.  The  forks  of  the  river  offered  the  ideal  place 
in  which  the  picnics  were  held,  and  around  these 
events  are  woven  many  of  the  most  interesting  points 
of  the  early  history  of  Nehalem  Valley. 


School  Life. 


If  the  school  boy  and  girl  of  years  ago  possessed 
the  same  love  for  the  task  of  acquiring  education  as 
the  average  pupil  of  today  there  is  a  great  wonder 
there  were  not  more  truants  among  those  following 
the  painful  pathway  up  the  hill  of  knowledge.  There 
were  many  reasons  contributing  to  the  delinquency  in 
those  trying  times.  The  school  house  was  a  long,  long 
way  from  home.  Frequently  it  was  three  or  four  miles 
and  the  uninterested  student  had  a  long  time  to  think 
over  the  usual  excuses  for  taking  a  day  off.  Many  of 
the  earlier  students  of  the  original  school  in  the  Neha- 
lem Valley  trudged  miles  along  wooded  trails  and  the 
treacherous  rivers  in  the  quest  of  learning.  All  along 
were  many  streams  in  which  the  trout  were  merrily 
sporting  on  those  pleasant  days,  and  there  is  hardly 
a  boy  who  did  not  know  the  real  delight  of  fishing. 
It  took  an  urchin  of  true  convictions  and  determined 
purpose  to  surrender  such  sport  for  the  drudgery  of 
school  exertions.  The  hewn  seats  and  benches  and  the 
rough  "comforts"  of  those  earlier  houses  of  learning 
did  not  invite  the  nature-loving  boy  and  girl  to  ex- 
perience their  inconveniences.    Everything  was  against 


SCHOOLLIFE  83 

the  students  of  a  half -century  ago.  There  were  long 
and  dubious  paths  through  the  woods,  and  bears  dwelt 
in  the  underbrush.  The  schools  days,  too,  came  in  the 
dismal  hours  of  the  long  winter.  The  idea  of  trudging 
through  the  rain,  soaked  to  the  skin,  and  spending 
hours  over  books,  whose  pages  contained  nothing  to 
interest  the  mind  of  youth,  was  discouraging. 

The  first  school  in  the  valley  extended  over  the 
five  months  of  winter  weather.  Later  it  was  cut  down 
to  three  months  because  it  cost  too  much  to  educate 
the  young  folks.  The  routine  studies  of  early  life, 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  were  the  main  stand- 
bys.  Books  were  scarce,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
teacher  seldom  extended  beyond  these.  There  was  no 
attempt  to  over-exert  the  brains  of  the  teachers,  and 
the  danger  of  brain  fever  among  the  pupils,  from  over- 
study,  was  entirely  eliminated.  The  first  school  was 
conducted  at  the  home  of  Jacob  Cromwell,  on  the  slope 
of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain,  a  short  distance  from  the 
cottage  of  S.  G.  Reed.  Miss  Luella  Cromwell  was  the 
teacher,  and  fifteen  students  attended  a  greater  part 
of  the  school  year  of  five  months.  It  occupied  one  of 
the  rooms  of  the  Cromwell  home,  and  the  question  of 
grading  the  pupils  did  not  enter  into  the  curriculum. 

This  was  in  1879.  Mr.  Cromwell  was  living  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  and  George  Dean  occupied  a  part 
of  the  Manzanita  Beach  property.  The  next  neighbor 
was  at  the  lake  on  the  present  Classic  Ridge  property, 
where  William  Snyder  lived,  whose  five  stepchildren 
were  attending  the  school.  Three  children  of  the  Ten- 
nyson family,  who  moved  from  the  forks  of  the  river 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  their  children  the  advantage 
of  school,  were  also  among  the  pupils.  Two  children 
of  William  Dean,  four  from  the  Cromwell  homestead, 
and  Miss  Lillian  Dean,  now  Mrs.  Fred  Zaddach,  com- 
prised the  pupils  of  the  first  school  established  in  the 


84  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

valley.  Miss  Lillian  Dean  was  the  daughter  of  George 
Dean,  who  was  prominently  identified  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Nehalem  district. 

The  increased  number  of  pupils  from  the  forks  of 
the  river  district,  and  the  distance  to  be  traveled,  had 
an  influence  in  locating  the  school  for  the  next  year 
closer  to  the  river.  A  log  house  had  been  built  on 
what  is  now  the  Herman  Tohl  place,  near  the  creek, 
and  this  was  the  center  of  attraction  for  the  studious 
ones  for  the  three  months  of  instruction  during  the 
next  season.  Dr.  Young,  who  combined  his  medical 
profession  with  that  of  uplift  for  the  younger  genera- 
tion, opened  the  school.  After  six  weeks  of  the  term 
had  passed,  he  was  accidentally  drowned  at  Fisher 
Point  while  on  a  visit  to  a  patient.  The  unfortunate 
accident  happened  during  the  New  Year  holidays,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  term  was  completed  with  Charles 
Pye  as  master. 

Whether  the  task  of  instructing  during  three 
months  of  the  year  was  too  much,  or  the  teacher  moved 
away,  is  hard  to  say,  but  the  change  in  instructors  was 
frequent.  The  year  1881  found  Thomas  Alley  wielding 
the  rod  of  authority  at  the  school.  At  this  time  the 
number  of  pupils  had  increased  materially,  and  many 
were  attending  from  the  North  Fork  and  South  Fork 
districts.  The  children  from  the  Scovell  homestead 
made  the  long  trip  from  their  home,  and  the  Crawford 
home  added  more.  Albert  Crawford  was  among  those 
who  withstood  the  inviting  trout  creek  and  opportunity 
to  hunt  squirrels,  and  made  his  painful  way  to  school. 
Steve  Scovell  was  another  youth  who  spent  the  weary 
hours  on  the  trail  up  the  hill  of  knowledge.  School 
conditions  drifted  along  with  a  gradual  increasing 
number  of  those  in  attendance  until  it  became  neces- 
sary to  increase  the  facilities.  The  district  was  divided 
and  a  school  established  in  the  North  Fork  section. 


SCHOOLLIFE  85 

The  first  teacher  of  this  school  was  E.  K.  Scovell,  and 
the  school  house  was  no  pretentious  affair.  At  present 
Mr.  Scovell  is  using  the  former  school  house  as  a 
chicken  coop,  and  it  testifies  to  the  disadvantages  of 
school  life  in  the  valley  thirty-five  years  ago.  He  had 
a  well-attended  school  during  this  year. 

The  district  had  been  augmented  by  children  from 
the  Alley  household,  and  several  new  ones  had  moved 
in  and  taken  up  their  home.  The  year  following  the 
school  was  in  the  hands  of  William  Batterson.  The 
people  of  the  district  have  since  built  a  fine  new  build- 
ing, and  the  school  year  corresponds  with  that  of  all 
other  sections  of  the  country,  with  grades  in  which 
every  branch  of  study  to  the  high  school  is  taught. 

The  school  house  on  the  Tohl  place  has  disappeared 
entirely,  and  later  was  replaced  by  a  more  modern 
building,  but  this  did  not  correspond  with  the  fast- 
growing  community,  and  this  year  a  model  house  of  in- 
struction was  built  at  Classic  Ridge. 

Other  sections  of  the  valley  have  kept  apace  with 
these  two  districts,  and  the  growth  in  houses  of  learn- 
ing has  been  in  advance  of  the  industrial  development. 
A  high  school  l)uilding  was  built  in  the  summer  of 
1910  and  opened  that  fall.  It  has  been  most  successful. 
It  is  centrally  located  in  the  valley  to  accommodate 
the  pupils  from  every  section  who  may  desire  to  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  prepare  for  college 
or  receive  a  little  more  education  in  preparation  for 
a  future  life.  The  course  of  study  is  identical  with  the 
high  schools  of  the  state,  and  special  care  is  taken  to 
make  the  work  as  practical  as  possible.  Special  courses 
have  been  introduced  and,  under  the  principalship  of 
Prof.  C.  E.  English,  who  is  in  charge  this  year,  a  prac- 
tical course  in  commercial  law  has  been  inatigurated 
in  which  the  students  in  this  department  are  given 
local  and  practical  instruction. 


86  STORIES    OF     ^]EHALEM 

Between  Upper  and  Lower  Nehaleni  a  model  gram- 
mar school  house  has  been  built,  with  an  extra  room 
for  primary  pupils.  This  building  was  constructed  in 
1912,  and  opened  for  work  that  year  with  Miss  Sadie 
E,  McKenzie  as  principal,  who  has  introduced  a  fea- 
ture of  school  life  that  is  designed  to  place  the  pupils 
in  a  position  to  becomee  more  self-responsible.  In  con- 
nection with  her  civil  government  work  she  has  formed 
the  school  into  a  municipal  corporation,  and  the  con- 
duct and  deportment  of  the  pupils  is  placed  in  their 
own  hands.  A  charter  has  been  adopted  which  con- 
forms with  the  city  charters  of  the  state.  Following 
the  adoption  of  the  charter,  a  mayor,  councilmen,  re- 
corder and  treasurer  were  elected  at  a  city  election. 
The  appointment  of  the  marshal,  street  commissioner 
and  health  officers  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
mayor,  and  a  city  attorney  elected  by  the  city  council. 
The  object  is  to  permit  the  children  to  manage  their 
own  conduct  in  the  school  and  on  the  play  grounds, 
and  the  plan  has  worked  most  successfully. 

A  school  has  been  established  at  Mohler;  a  graded 
school,  with  grammar  courses,  at  Wheeler,  and  an  ex- 
cellent school  at  Brighton. 


Lure  of  Coal. 


Many  of  the  earlier  settlers  in  the  valley  were  lured 
here  by  the  stories  of  the  coal  deposits  found  along 
Coal  Creek.  They  figured  that  a  rich  deposit  of  this 
valuable  fuel  located  so  near  the  growing  city  of  Port- 
land would  mean  a  boon  for  someone,  and  resolved 
to  try  a  hand  at  mining  in  this  inaccessible  district. 
While  solution  of  the  question  of  transportation  was 


LUREOFCOAL  87 

a  long  way  off,  and  at  that  time  there  was  no  induce- 
ment for  anyone  to  build  a  railroad,  the  discovery  of 
a  large  field  of  coal  would  be  the  incentive  for  capital 
to  push  a  line  across  the  mountains.  Many  men  tried 
their  hand  at  prospecting.  Among  the  first  to  do  any 
work  was  A.  J.  Cloutre,  a  half-breed,  who  spent  con- 
siderable time  on  his  own  account  and  in  labor  for 
others. 

Thomas  Dean  w^as  among  the  first  to  come  "from 
the  outside,"  as  was  the  expression  among  those  who 
came  to  the  Nehalem  Valley  from  the  districts  of  the 
Columbia  or  Willamette  rivers.  He  came  here  about 
1870,  and  did  considerable  scientific  prospecting  along 
the  river.  He  was  assisted  in  the  work  by  George, 
his  son,  and  later  was  joined  by  another  son,  Harry. 
Probably  the  Deans  did  more  consistent  work  in  open- 
ing the  veins  and  discovei-ing  the  extent  of  the  deposits 
than  anyone  else.  They  worked  along  the  creek  for 
several  years,  and  knew  more  of  the  real  nature  of  the 
coal  to  be  found  than  any  here  since,  but  their  labors 
were  not  rewarded  sufficiently  for  them  to  seek  trans- 
portation and  enter  the  business  commercially. 

Henry  Tohl  is  another  that  was  drawn  here  by  the 
lure  of  the  stories  of  the  coal  deposits,  but  he  could 
not  see  a  future  in  staying  with  the  miner's  pick.  He 
abandoned  it  for  ranching,  and  later  was  among  the 
first  to  begin  business  in  the  valley,  and  has  been  so 
closely  associated  with  its  development  that  the  story 
of  his  life  and  the  story  of  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  valley  are  closely  associated. 


High  Water. 

Rome  of  the  early  settlers  here  wore  not  familiar 
with  the  manner  of  tides.    The  daily  going  and  coming 


88  STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  were  known  to  them  from 
the  meager  stories  found  in  the  geographies  of  the 
period  following  the  Civil  War.  Any  spot  upon  which 
grass  grew  was  terra  firma  to  them,  and  the  idea  of 
reckoning  with  high  water  was  foreign.  Some  had 
come  from  the  inland  where  tides  never  ebbed  and 
flowed,  and  cared  little  how  the  ocean  chose  to  act. 
The  ocean  could  take  care  of  itself. 

Among  those  settling  here  was  one  of  the  latter 
type.  He  was  not  familiar  with  the  matter  of  tide  flats 
and  things  of  that  kind.  In  the  Nehalem  River,  oppo- 
site the  present  city  of  Nehalem,  is  an  extended  flat 
which,  during  low  water,  is  a  most  inviting  place  upon 
which  to  build  an  abode.  This  settler  discovered  the 
spot  during  low  water,  and  was  not  informed  that 
the  place  was  covered  to  a  depth  of  several  feet  at 
certain  times.  A  house  was  hastily  built,  and  the  fam- 
ily moved  in.  The  father,  for  there  were  two  small 
children  in  the  family,  was  away  at  work  one  after- 
noon shortly  after  the  home  was  completed.  The  tides 
were  gradually  changing  to  the  high  point,  and  con- 
tinued rains  had  swollen  the  river  to  some  extent.  Dur- 
ing the  late  afternoon  the  mother  noticed  the  tide  was 
gradually  creeping  up  toward  the  house,  and  became 
alarmed.  Her  husband's  father  was  residing  in  the 
vicinity  at  the  time,  and  the  mother  asked  him  if  there 
was  any  danger.  He  laughed  at  the  idea  and  assured 
her  the  water  would  not  come  as  high.  When  her  hus- 
band returned  she  told  him  of  her  fears,  but  he  was 
equally  as  positive  of  their  safety. 

The  two  children  slept  in  a  trundle  bed  at  the  side 
of  that  of  their  parents,  and  close  enough  so  the  fond 
mother  could  reach  out  during  the  night  and  see  if 
they  were  all  right.  Quiet  settled  on  the  home  with 
the  darkness  of  night,  and  everyone  had  been  wafted 
to   slumberland.      The   mother,    as   was   her   custom, 


HIGH    WATER  89 

reached  out  during  the  night  to  see  if  the  children 
were  properly  covered  and,  to  her  horror,  found  they 
were  not  in  their  accustomed  place.  She  reached  lower 
and  her  hand  came  in  contact  with  the  cold  water  of 
the  ocean.  She  was  frightened  and  called  to  her  hus- 
band. He  was  sleeping  the  sleep  the  pioneer  father 
always  slept  after  a  hard  day  at  work,  and  was  not 
easily  awakened.  xVnd,  just  like  a  man,  he  was  indig- 
nant at  being  awakened  for  such  a  foolish  thing — 
such  a  strange  notion  of  woman  as  that  water  would 
get  into  the  house.  He  soon  became  convinced  that 
his  wife  was  in  earnest  and  there  would  be  no  sleep 
for  him  until  he  responded  to  her  silly  whim,  and  again 
admonishing  her  that  her  ideas  were  groundless,  he 
jumped  from  the  bed.  Well,  there  was  probably  no 
more  surprised  man  ever  lived  in  the  whole  country. 
He  landed  in  cold  and  icy  water  that  came  above  his 
knees  before  his  feet  settled  on  the  floor.  He  was  not 
only  surprised,  but  thoroughly  awakened  at  the  shock. 
He  groped  about  and  found  the  heavy  wooden  trundle 
bed  had  drifted  around  the  room  and  came  to  anchor 
on  the  opposite  side  to  where  it  was  originally  placed. 
The  family  moved  next  day. 

Another  incident  of  this  nature  is  brought  down  to 
us  by  Fred  Zaddach.  It  is  a  story  of  a  landlubber  who 
built  his  cabin  up  the  North  Fork  on  the  high  tide- 
lands.  He  was  a  lumberjack  and  had  spent  most  of 
his  time  in  the  mountain  regions  where  tides  did  not 
operate.  Fred  was  working  at  the  place,  and  was  in- 
vited to  share  the  landlubber's  abode.  He  had  ob- 
served the  action  of  the  tides,  and  was  aware  of  the 
fact  that  it  was  likely  to  sneak  up  on  a  fellow  when 
he  was  not  looking. 

"Don't  you  think  there  is  danger  of  the  water 
coming  into  the  cabin  during  the  freshet  season?" 
asked  Fred. 


90  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

The  landlubber  looked  at  him  with  such  a  show  of 
scorn  that  Fred  resolved  to  let  the  matter  drop.  Late 
one  night,  while  both  men  were  gathering  the  much- 
needed  sleep  after  a  day  of  toil,  Fred  was  awakened 
by  the  heat  in  the  cabin.  He  remarked  to  the  land- 
lubber that  it  was  getting  exceptionally  warm,  and  he 
was  feeling  uncomfortable.  He  was  sleeping  in  the 
upper  bunk. 

' '  Warm ! ' '  said  the  landlubber.  ' '  Well,  I  will  make 
it  warm  for  you  if  you  get  up  and  put  water  in  my 
bed  again." 

With  this  remark,  he  leaped  from  the  bed.  There 
was  a  splash  of  water,  a  swish,  some  gasps,  and  a  thor- 
oughly wet  and  chilled  landlubber  climbed  into  the 
upper  bunk  where  Fred  was  in  less  time  than  it  would 
take  to  tell  it.  After  that  a  much  wiser  landlubber 
removed  his  effects  to  higher  ground  and  camped  be- 
neath the  trees  until  a  new  cabin  was  built. 


Advent  of  Industry. 

The  introduction  of  industry  in  the  valley  is  closely 
associated  with  the  story  of  struggles  and  disappoint- 
ments in  overcoming  the  difficulties  which  checked  the 
early  navigation  of  the  Nehalem  bar  and  river.  Up 
to  the  year  1887  the  rude-shapen  craft  of  the  Indian 
was  the  only  means  of  navigation  known  to  the  coun- 
try. The  possession  of  a  canoe  was  one  of  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  native  existence,  and  many  of  them  pos- 
sessed several  of  different  proportions.  The  native 
crafts  ranged  from  the  small  dug-out,  used  by  the  lone 
hunter  or  fisherman  upon  the  river,  to  the  large  canoe, 
commodious  enough  to  accommodate  an  entire  family. 
It  was  no  simple  matter  to  make  one  of  these  vessels. 


ADVENT    OF    INDUSTRY  91 

The  tools  possessed  by  the  Indian  workman  were  crude 
and  awkward.  A  stone  hammer,  fashioned  from  the 
hard  flint  rock  found  along  the  beaches,  and  a  rude 
chisel,  made  from  the  same  material,  were  all  the  ship- 
builder of  those  days  possessed.  The  hammer  was 
from,  eight  to  twelve  inches  in  length  and  shaped  simi- 
larly to  a  wedge.  Frequently  these  were  elaborate  in 
design,  and  passed  from  father  to  son  for  generations. 
One  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Gervais,  of  Wheeler, 
has  been  handed  down  through  three  generations,  and 
is  in  excellent  condition.  Of  course,  the  introduction 
of  tools  of  the  white  people  did  away  with  the  cumber- 
some instruments  of  a  century  ago,  and  the  hammer  is 
as  much  a  curiosity  to  the  younger  Indians  as  it  it  to 
their  white  friends.  Fire  was  one  of  the  best  and  most 
useful  agencies  of  the  natives  in  the  work  of  ship- 
building. 

The  first  navigation  of  the  Nehalem  bar  is  so  far 
back  in  the  unknown  history  of  these  waters  that  it  is 
impossible  to  ascertain.  We  do  know,  however,  that 
the  Indian  braves  have  for  centuries  paddled  out  from 
the  Nehalem  to  the  ocean,  and  made  frequent  trips  to 
Tillamook  and  northward  to  the  Columbia  River.  One 
of  the  first  experiences  remembered  by  a  native  woman 
now  living  near  here  is  of  sitting  in  the  prow  of  the 
big  family  canoe  in  which  they  all  took  a  trip  to  Sea- 
side to  visit  relatives.  The  entire  family,  with  a  gen- 
erous supply  of  household  goods,  were  packed  in  the 
canoe,  and  the  trip  was  made  without  incident.  It  is 
safe  to  presume,  however,  that  these  trips  to  the  big 
ocean  were  made  only  during  the  calm  and  pleasant 
days  of  summer,  for  no  native,  hoAvever  reckless,  would 
brave  the  bar  during  a  storm.  These  canoes  were  of 
excellent  model  and  design.  Even  though  they  were 
made  from  a  single  log,  and  fashioned  by  the  crude 
tools  of  the.  earliest  Indian  days,  they  were  unexcelled 


92  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

in  model  and  outclass  those  of  the  white  man  of  today, 
with  all  his  high-class  instruments  of  woodcraft.  The 
modern  boat  builder  seeks  to  pattern  after  the  design 
of  the  native,  but,  somehow  or  other,  cannot  become 
perfect  in  imitation. 

The  first  of  the  freight  carriers  built  by  white  men 
to  enter  the  river  was  the  0.  K.,  a  small  two-masted 
steam  schooner.  It  was  built  on  the  model  of  a  scow 
and  came  in  with  a  cargo  of  lumber  and  supplies  for 
the  cannery  built  by  M.  J.  Kinney.  The  ruins  of  the 
first  industry  erected  in  the  valley  can  be  seen  on  the 
river  front  a  short  distance  from  the  Wheeler  Lumber 
Company's  plant,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  toward 
Brighton.  The  O.  K.  came  into  the  river  and  tied  up 
at  the  cannery  site  on  July  4,  1887.  It  was  an  event 
of  great  importance  to  the  residents  of  the  district. 
On  that  day  one  of  the  accustomed  picnics  was  held  at 
the  forks  of  the  river,  and  the  announcement  that  a 
steam  vessel  had  entered  the  harbor  and  tied  up  with 
a  load  of  lumber  was  sufficient  to  cause  considerable 
elation  among  the  picnickers.  At  last,  the  outside 
world  was  no  longer  shut  out  from  them.  The  vessel, 
though  diminutive  in  size  and  not  sufficiently  rigged 
to  cause  the  least  notice  on  the  river  today,  was  a 
seven  days'  wonder  to  the  settlers.  It  meant  more  to 
them  than  anything  else — it  meant  a  solution  of  the 
troublesome  question  of  transportation.  During  the 
next  two  days  many  visited  the  craft,  and  predicted 
that  the  time  was  not  far  distant  when  the  presence  of 
a  ship  or  schooner  in  the  river  would  be  a  common 
affair.  But  that  dream  was  doomed  to  disappointment, 
as  will  be  told  later — doomed  for  some  time  to  come. 

The  Nehalem  River  had  always  been  a  harvest  field 
of  salmon.  The  natives  found  no  difficulty  in  catching 
all  they  needed,  and  many  hard  winters  were  made 
more  comfortable  by  a  well-filled  larder  of  smoked  and 


ADVENT    OF    INDUSTRY  93 

dried  salmon.  The  earliest  settlers  realized  the  wealth 
offered  by  the  river,  but  were  unable  to  reap  the 
harvest.  The  same  question  of  transportation,  the  one 
that  had  retarded  the  development  of  the  valley  in 
the  past,  presented  itself  again.  How  could  this  wealth 
reach  the  market?  It  was  not  solved  until  the  mystery 
of  the  bar  had  been  discovered.  It  was  a  story  of 
trials,  death  and  disappointment.  But  Mr.  Kinney  was 
persistent  in  his  convictions  that  the  river  offered  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  the  development  of  this  in- 
dustry. The  cannery  was  constructed  in  the  summer 
of  1887  and  put  into  operation  that  fall.  Native  and 
white  fishermen  agreed  to  man  the  boats  on  the  river 
and  handle  the  nets.  It  was  a  profitable  occupation, 
for  salmon  commanded  a  high  price,  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  industry  meant  a  great  deal  to  the  resi- 
dents. The  equipment  was  modern  for  those  days. 
Many  tons  of  fish  were  canned  and  packed  that  year, 
and  the  enterprise  proved  a  success.  It  continued 
under  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Kinney  until  1899,  when 
the  business  was  sold  to  the  Elmore  Packing  Company, 
of  Astoria.  Later  the  location  of  the  cannery  was 
changed  to  Upper  Nehalem,  where  a  large  plant  is  now 
operated. 

The  story  of  these  early  fishing  days  is  not  one  of 
a  path  of  roses.  There  were  disappointments  and  hard- 
ships coming,  to  a  great  extent,  from  the  troubles  in 
shipping  the  product  to  Portland  and  Astoria.  The 
two  fishing  seasons  following  the  construction  of  the 
cannery  were  exceptionally  good,  and  the  industry  be- 
came profitable  to  the  operator  and  fishermen.  In  the 
year  1889  the  cannery  was  leased  to  the  Elmore  Pack- 
ing Company,  which  was  operating  at  the  same  time  on 
Tillamook  Bay,  and  closed  for  that  season.  The  fish 
were  conveyed  from  the  Nehalem  River  along  the 
beach  to  Garibaldi,  and  many  of  the  fishermen  found 


94  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

objection  to  this  plan.  During  that  fall  an  accident 
happened  which  discouraged  the  navigators  of  the  bar. 
H.  V.  Alley,  Justin  Schumaker,  Albert  Weigerman 
and  Watchman  Bishop,  of  the  Kinney  Cannery,  de- 
cided to  branch  out  for  themselves  in  packing  and 
curing  salmon.  They  succeeded  in  putting  up  a  big 
supply  of  fish,  and  sent  to  Astoria  to  have  a  boat  come 
here  to  take  their  product.  The  schooner  Augusta  was 
sent  to  the  river  for  the  purpose,  and  with  the  under- 
standing that  local  fishermen,  familiar  with  the  bar, 
should  pilot  her  in.  There  was  a  treacherous  changing 
of  the  channel  they  could  not  solve.  Three  of  the  part- 
ners, Bishop,  Schumaker  and  Weigerman,  undertook 
the  work,  and  started  out  over  the  bar  with  a  fishboat 
to  meet  the  schooner.  As  they  were  trying  to  cross 
the  bar,  their  boat  was  capsized  and  all  three  were  lost. 
The  captain  of  the  Augusta  was  disheartened  by  the 
accident,  and  decided  not  to  attempt  an  entrance.  The 
remaining  partner  engaged  in  the  enterprise  of  pack- 
ing salmon  was  unable  to  send  the  pack  to  the  market 
and  it  resulted  in  a  total  loss. 

The  Kinney  canneiy  was  again  in  operation  in  the 
year  1890,  and  continued  until  the  plant  was  sold  to 
the  Elmore  Company.  Another  cannery  made  its  ap- 
pearance on  the  river  during  the  summer  of  1893.  It 
was  built  by  E.  G.  E.  Wist  at  Upper  Nehalem,  and  its 
history  was  brief.  Mr.  Wist  had  been  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  the  same  place  during  the  pre- 
vious year,  and  when  his  store  was  consumed  by  fire  he 
built  a  small  cannery,  which  later  became  the  property 
of  the  Elmore  Compan3^ 


Early  Events. 


The  Nehalem  Valley  has  the  honor  of  starting  one 
of  the  first  factories  for  handling  the  products  of  the 


EARLY    EVENTS  95 

dairy  ranches  in  Tillamook  County.  Its  history  is  not 
particularly  flattering,  but  it  sIiom's  that  enterprising 
men  from  the  outside  early  recognized  the  importance 
of  this  industry.  Up  to  the  year  1893  the  farmers 
packed  their  butter  and  awaited  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  ship  it  to  Portland  or  Astoria.  Every  home 
was  a  butter  factory  and.  at  this  early  date,  there  was 
an  immense  amount  of  this  product  made  and  shipped. 
It  was  one  of  the  great  mediums  of  exchange  between 
the  merchants  on  the  Columbia  and  Willamette  rivers 
and  the  residents  of  the  valley.  It  was,  in  fact,  about 
the  only  product  of  their  farms  they  could  depend  upon 
in  dealing  with  the  markets.  Because  of  the  lack  of 
transportation  the  question  of  market  gardening  was 
not  considered.  A  small  patch  of  ground  was  cleared 
and  here  the  family  supply  of  vegetables  was  produced, 
but  there  was  never  an  attempt  at  raising  a  surplus  to 
meet  the  demands  from  other  districts. 

In  the  year  1893  there  was  a  movement  started  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  away  with  the  family  churn  and 
manufacturing  butter  by  modern  process.  Armstrong 
&  Hickinbottom,  the  local  men,  decided  to  build  a  but- 
ter factory  at  Nehalem  as  a  central  point  for  the 
ranches  of  the  producing  district.  They  secured  the 
co-operation  of  T.  S.  Townsend,  of  Portland,  who  had 
a  ready  market  for  the  entire  production  of  the  valley, 
and  who  agreed  to  furnish  the  machinery.  Mr.  Town- 
send  made  trips  here  from  Portland  to  look  over  the 
field  and  was  enthusiastic  over  the  prospects  of  the 
enterprise.  The  building  was  built  about  four  hundred 
feet  back  from  the  river  on  what  is  noAV  Tohl's  Avenue, 
and  is  now  standing,  though  fast  going  to  decay.  I\Ir. 
Townsend  shipped  the  macliinery  from  Portland  and 
it  was  installed  by  the  local  operators.  In  order  to 
handle  the  milk  and  cream  more  easily,  a  tram  road 
was  built  from  the  factory  to  the  river  bank  and  an 


96.  STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

improvised  car  used  to  transport  it.  This,  by  the  way, 
was  the  first  railroad  ever  built  in  the  valley.  The 
farmers  living  along  the  river  for  miles  around  Neha- 
lera  were  accustomed  to  bring  their  cream  to  the  fac- 
tory in  boats  and  the  tram  was  necessary. 

Farmers  from  the  beach  district,  from  the  North 
and  South  Forks  of  the  river  and  across  toward  where 
Wheeler  now  stands  made  frequent  trips  here,  and  for 
one  season  the  factory  turned  out  a  product  that  placed 
Nehalem  more  securely  on  the  map  as  a  dairy  district. 
But  the  enterprise  was  not  a  success,  and  after  one 
season  of  operation  it  suspended.  Several  local  ranchers 
became  interested  in  the  venture,  but  butter  was  not  the 
best  means  of  disposing  of  the  products  from  the  farm. 

It  was  not  until  a  few  years  later  that  the  advan- 
tages of  making  cheese  were  impressed  upon  the  ranch- 
ers. The  unfortunate  venture  with  the  butter  factory 
caused  a  lull  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  in  this 
line  for  some  time.  But  the  fire  of  enterprise  broke 
out  again,  and  a  cheese  factory  was  built  this  time. 
Its  operation  proved  to  be  a  success  from  the  start. 
Cheese  was  the  more  logical  production  of  a  district 
so  handicapped  by  the  lack  of  transportation.  The 
period  required  for  maturing  it,  and  the  added  fact 
that  the  longer  it  stood,  up  to  a  certain  period,  the 
better  the  cheese,  worked  to  the  advantage  of  this  form 
of  enterprise.  There  was  nothing  lost  by  storing  the 
product  until  a  favorable  opportunity  to  ship  it  came, 
and  the  factory  soon  became  too  small  to  handle  the 
product.  It  inspired  the  ranchers  to  keep  more  cows. 
They  soon  found  that  there  was  an  advantage  in  taking 
their  milk  to  the  cheese  factory.  This  advantage  was 
both  financial  and  in  reduced  labor.  In  a  few  years 
the  number  of  coavs  in  the  valley  was  materially  in- 
creased, and  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the  plant. 
This  industry  has  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  two 


EARLY    EVENTS  97 

large  model  factories  are  now  required  to  handle  the 
product  of  the  ranches. 


Mail  Service. 


The  first  mail  route  established  in  Tillamook  County 
was  in  August,  1870.  It  followed  down  the  coast  from 
Astoria,  winding  around  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain 
to  Nehalem.  Here  it  crossed  the  river  to  Garibaldi 
Beach,  thence  to  Garibaldi,  where  the  mail  was  placed 
aboard  a  boat  and  transported  to  Tillamook.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  Nehalem  Valley  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween at  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  this  route. 
John  Crawford,  at  Neah-Kah-Nie,  was  the  first  after 
leaving  Skipanon,  and  the  next  was  found  at  the  loca- 
tion of  the  present  city  of  Nehalem.  This  was  Sam 
Corwin,  who  acted  as  postmaster  at  this  place  and  was 
the  first  to  represent  tlncle  Sam  here  in  this  capacity. 
No  other  homes  were  found  by  the  lonely  mail  carrier 
until  he  reached  Garibaldi.  He  crossed  the  river  in  a 
canoe  and  made  his  way  down  the  beach  from  where 
Brighton  is  now  located.  At  this  time.  Garibaldi  was 
quite  a  settlement  and  one  of  the  most  important  ship- 
ping points  on  Tillamook  Bay. 

George  Fj.  W.  Dean  was  the  first  to  carry  the  mail 
from  Astoria  to  Tillamook  by  way  of  Nehalem.  The 
service  at  this  time  was  only  once  a  week,  and  it  was 
often  enough  for  the  carrier  employed.  It  was  no  easy 
matter  to  pack  a  sack  of  mail  from  the  Columbia  to 
Tillamook.  Trails  were  scarcely  worn  and  the  trip 
was  rough  and  tiresome.  Few  people  had  made  the 
journey  over  this  uninviting  road ;  the  dismal  forest 
path  was  encumbered  with  fallen  trees,  the  streams  and 


98  STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

rivers  north  of  the  Nehalem  had  to  be  forded,  and  dur- 
ing certain  seasons  of  the  year  were  swollen  by  rains 
and  freshets.  The  trip  from  Astoria  to  Cannon  Beach 
was  through  an  unbroken  countr^y  and,  while  the  trail 
was  well  marked,  it  was  none  too  good.  Along  the 
beach  it  was  a  pleasure  during  low  tide  in  comparison 
with  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  Around  the  moun- 
tain, before  coming  to  the  Nehalem  country,  the  trail 
was  exceptionally  discouraging.  The  rain-soaked 
ground  dried  out  very  slowly  in  the  forest,  and  mud  to 
the  knees  was  encountered  for  miles  at  a  stretch. 
Around  the  mountain  the  trip  was  frequently  a  dan- 
gerous one.  The  trail  led  higher  up  on  the  side  than 
the  present  road  and  slides  were  the  danger  to  be  con- 
stantly watched. 

While  the  duties  of  mail  carrier  were  particularly 
hard,  the  residents  of  Nehalem  Valley  had  an  exciting 
game  of  tag  with  the  postmaster.  Not  that  the  officials 
were  hard  to  catch,  or  did  anything  of  which  they  were 
ashamed,  but  the  frequency  with  which  the  postmaster 
was  changed  and  the  office  was  moved  kept  the  folks 
busy  hunting  their  letters  and  papers.  The  post  office 
was  conducted  in  the  home  of  the  official,  and  the  lati- 
tude in  which  the  office  was  moved  made  the  prospect 
of  where  one  should  go  to  receive  mail  more  of  a  specu- 
lation than  whether  one  would  receive  a  letter.  One 
day  it  was  located  at  Nehalem;  another  time  it  was 
across  the  river  about  half  way  between  where  Wheeler 
and  Mohler  are  now  located ;  another  time  the  people 
were  forced  to  travel  to  the  North  Fork;  later  it  was 
moved  to  Upper  Nehalem.  Thus  it  went  around  the 
circle  and  about  every  community  in  the  valley  has  had 
the  honor  some  time  or  other  of  possessing  the  post 
office. 

The  mail  route  in  and  out  of  the  valley,  to  the  north, 
has  been  changed  at  times.  For  a  while  it  came  around 


MAILSER\nCE  99 

the  mountain,  and  later  Avas  changed  inland  and  came 
doAvn  the  North  Fork.  The  trail  during  the  latter  pe- 
riod led  down  the  Heeanicum,  past  what  is  known  as 
the  Russian  Settlement,  followed  the  North  Fork  of 
the  Nehalem  to  a  point  where  it  was  navigable  with 
canoes,  and  from  there  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The 
mail  carriers  planned  their  trips  to  cover  just  so  much 
distance  in  a  day.  and  had  their  regular  places  to  stop 
for  the  night.  This  inside  route  was  abandoned  when 
the  post  office  switched  back  to  the  vicinity  of  Neha- 
lem again.  The  Xeah-Kah-Nie  Trail  was  in  use  most 
of  the  time,  as  it  was  shorter  and  much  easier,  and  re- 
mained the  favorite  until  the  railroad  relieved  the  dull 
monotony  of  a  daily  hike  around  the  mountain,  for  in 
later  years  the  service  was  dail3^ 

In  those  early  days  the  amount  of  mail  carried  was 
much  different  from  the  present.  Even  though  the  car- 
rier brought  all  the  mail  for  the  district  as  far  south 
as  Tillamook,  he  was  able  to  pack  it  on  his  back  and 
find  it  no  heavy  burden  at  any  season  of  the  year.  As 
the  service  grew,  the  mail  carriers  employed  horses, 
but  that  was  long  before  the  parcel  post  service  was 
inaugurated.  It  was  a  lucky  thing  that  the  railroad 
entered  the  field  before  the  parcel  post,  for  the  horse, 
laden  with  an  assortment  of  hats,  dresses,  suits  and 
the  usual  miscellaneous  assortment  of  parcels  now  re- 
ceived, would  have  had  a  busy  time  getting  around  the 
mountain  on  a  windy  day. 


Beginning  of  Lumber  Industry. 

The  first  saw  mill  established  in  the  Nehalem  Val- 
ley was  set  up  on  the  homestead  occupied  by  an  early 
settler.     It  consisted   of  an  axe,   strong  muscles  and 


100         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

backbone,  and  a  grim  determination  to  build  a  cabin. 
With  this  simple  equipment  the  first  settler  set  the 
"wheels"  of  industry  in  the  valley  going  and  made  the 
shavings  fly  without  the  keen  noise  emanating  from 
the  saw  mill  of  our  day.  The  first  shingle  mill  con- 
sisted of  the  same  equipment,  and  both  proceeded  with- 
out a  great  deal  of  improvement  for  a  decade  or  so, 
until  some  of  the  enterprising  residents  decided  condi- 
tions were  ripe  for  the  modern  afi'air  and  interested 
outside  capital. 

The  first  stick  of  sawed  lumber  coming  to  this  dis- 
trict floated  onto  Nehalem  Beach  from  some  passing 
ship  and  was  eagerly  seized  upon  by  the  finder  as  a 
souvenir  of  the  outside  world.  It  was  not  particularly 
a  curiosity  to  the  residents,  but  a  novelty  for  the  val- 
ley. During  the  construction  of  the  first  homes  at 
Neah-Kah-Nie  and  Manzanita  the  builders  were  fortu- 
nate enough  to  find  quite  an  amount  of  ship  wreckage 
and  floating  lumber  to  relieve  the  strain  of  hewing 
the  needed  supply  from  the  giants  of  the  forest.  Lucky 
indeed  was  the  man  who  found  any  quantity  of  build- 
ing material  from  the  real  world,  and  it  was  a  source 
of  pride  to  the  owner  of  a  house  possessing  some  of 
this  rarity — like  a  Persian  rug  from  real  Persia  or  the 
painting  of  a  dog  by  Landseer.  Anyway,  this  bit  of 
wreckage  brought  them  closer  in  touch  with  the  places 
where  the  hum  of  industry  really  hummed. 

It  was  twenty-five  years,  however,  after  the  first 
settlement  in  the  valley  before  the  cry  of  the  circular 
saw  echoed  along  the  river.  The  introduction  of  sawn 
lumber  in  the  construction  of  the  cannery  by  M.  J. 
Kinney  was  a  starter  for  the  demand  of  such  modern 
products.  The  fact  that  the  channel  leading  into  the 
river  from  the  ocean  had  been  solved  by  steamboats 
was  another  incentive  for  this  desire.  While  there  was 
60  much  timber,  and  machinery  could  be  shipped  here 


BEGINNING  OF  LUMBER  INDUSTRY     101 

by  boat,  there  remained  no  reason  why  the  hope  for 
a  saw  mill  could  not  be  realized. 

Representatives  of  Nehalem  took  up  the  question  of 
building  and  equipping  a  saw  mill  here  with  men  at 
Astoria  and,  after  much  dickering  and  necessary  in- 
spection, a  company  was  formed  for  the  purpose. 
Among  those  interested  in  the  project  were  Ford  & 
Stokes,  merchants  of  that  city,  and  three  men  by  the 
names  of  McGregor,  Johnson  and  Smith.  The  ma- 
chinery was  shipped  in  during  the  late  spring  of  1890 
and  set  up  on  the  island  opposite  Nehalem.  The  plant 
was  first  erected  on  a  platform  or  float  in  the  river 
and  the  lumber  for  the  real  mill  buildings  sawed  out. 
The  first  board  was  sawed  on  May  30,  1890,  and  a  slab 
from  it  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Henry  Tohl.  At  the 
same  time  the  work  was  being  rushed  on  the  mill  on 
the  island,  Robert  Krebs  had  a  crew  of  men  industri- 
ously constructing  a  mill  at  the  forks  of  the  river.  It 
was  a  race  between  the  crews  constructing  the  two 
plants  to  see  which  would  be  in  operation  first.  The 
island  mill  construction  crew  won  the  race  by  a  narrow 
margin  of  a  few  hours,  and  got  out  the  first  lumber. 

The  beginning  of  operation  of  this  first  mill  was 
marked  with  great  interest  by  the  residents  of  the  val- 
ley. Many  came  for  miles  to  see  the  wheels  start  and 
actually  hear  the  saw  yell  through  the  log.  It  marked 
the  starting  of  the  industry  that  was  some  day  to 
make  the  valley  famous  and  bring  millions  in  gold  to 
its  people.  As  an  inducement  to  secure  the  construc- 
tion of  these  industries,  the  timber  owners  along  the 
river  agreed  to  sell  their  logs  for  the  modest  price  of 
fifteen  cents  per  thousand,  but  the  question  of  shipping 
the  product  of  the  mill  to  market  became  a  serious 
one.  The  owners  of  lumber  schooners  wore  backward 
about  sending  their  boats  into  the  river  and  expecting 
to  get  them  out  again  with  a  paying  cargo.     The  bar 


102         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

was  the  death  blow  to  the  industry.  This  inability  to 
ship  its  products  forced  the  company  owning  the  mill 
on  the  island  to  close,  and  for  several  years  it  remained 
idle.  But  the  enterprising  people  of  Nehalem  were  not 
discouraged.  They  wanted  the  mill  started  and  sought 
someone  who  would  become  interested  and  run  it. 

The  mill  was  not  a  very  pretentious  affair  at  the 
time  of  first  construction.  Finally  it  was  purchased  by 
Roseburg  &  Callender,  who  enlarged  it  considerably 
and  increased  its  capacity.  Again  the  mill  began  oper- 
ations, and  again  disaster  followed  the  attempt  to  es- 
tablish an  industry  at  this  point.  The  hum  of  enter- 
prise sounded  good  to  the  residents  all  along  the  river, 
and  a  new  life  was  given  to  every  part  of  the  valley. 
But  the  joy  was  short-lived.  Two  weeks  after  the 
wheels  had  begun  to  turn  the  entire  plant  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  and  never  rebuilt.  A  few  years  later 
the  property  upon  which  the  fated  mill  stood  was  sold 
to  C.  H.  Wheeler. 

But  the  mill  constructed  by  Robert  Krebs  had  a 
more  fortunate  existence.  It  continued  operations  for 
several  years  and  proved  a  success.  It  Avas  not  a  large 
plant  and  did  not  cut  lumber  for  shipment.  The  local 
demands  of  the  people  of  the  valley  were  supplied  here 
and,  in  fact,  the  mill  proved  to  be  an  impetus  to  more 
and  better  buildings  upon  the  farms.  The  lumber  for 
most  of  the  farm  buildings  constructed  in  this  section 
following  the  year  1890  and  for  many  years  after  was 
cut  in  the  Krebs  mill.  The  ruins  of  this  plant  can  now 
be  seen  a  short  distance  from  Upper  Nehalem. 

A  few  years  after  the  Krebs  mill  began  operations 
and  the  question  of  navigating  the  bar  had  been  par- 
tially settled,  Himpel  &  Wheeler  built  a  mill  at  the 
location  of  the  present  big  plant  at  the  City  of 
Wheeler.  This  was  the  foundation  ui)on  which  the  big 
million  dollar  plant  was  laid.    A  part  of  this  mill  was 


BEGINNING  OF  LUMBER  INDUSTRY     103 

dismantled  to  give  room  for  the  present  structure.  The 
machinery  for  the  mill  was  brought  here  from  Clats- 
kanie,  on  the  Columbia  River.  This  mill  continued  in 
operation  until  about  three  years  ago,  Avhen  it  was 
forced  to  give  waj^  to  a  larger  and  more  modern  struc- 
ture. 

In  1905  Joseph  Effenberger  built  the  present  mill  in 
the  City  of  Nehalem  and  began  manufacturing  lumber 
for  the  local  trade.  The  great  number  of  salmon 
shipped  fresh  from  the  river  to  the  market  and  the 
establishment  of  cheese  factories  in  the  valley  created 
a  great  demand  for  boxes,  and  later  the  mill  was  en- 
larged to  include  the  manufacture  of  goods  to  supply 
this  demand.  The  mill  is  located  on  the  water  front 
in  the  city  limits  of  Nehalem  and  has  had  a  successful 
history  from  its  first  establishment.  Upon  the  death  of 
Mr.  Effenberger,  it  has  since  been  conducted  by  his 
estate.  About  two  years  earlier  a  mill  had  been  built 
further  down  the  river,  about  half  way  from  Nehalem 
to  Dean's  Point,  by  D.  H.  Vedder.  It  was  later  sold 
to  C.  H.  Foster,  who  operated  it  until  the  year  1914, 
when  he  sold  the  property  to  Mrs.  Anna  Mattley. 

An  interesting  feature  connected  with  the  construc- 
tion of  the  first  two  saw  mills  in  the  valley,  the  Krebs 
mill  and  that  on  the  island  opposite  Nehalem,  was  the 
intense  rivalry  between  the  builders  of  the  two  plants. 
The  company  from  Astoria  was  the  first  on  the  ground 
and  began  building  operations  about  two  weeks  before 
Robert  Krebs  made  his  appearance.  From  the  first 
appearance  of  the  Krebs  crew  a  defy  was  sent  forth, 
and  it  soon  became  known  from  one  end  of  the  valley 
to  the  other  that  there  was  to  be  a  pretty  race  between 
the  rival  millwrights  to  have  the  honor  of  blowing  the 
first  whistle.  The  residents  watched  the  construction 
operations  with  much  interest.  Sides  were  formed  and 
bets   made  on   the  skill   and   ability   of   the   different 


104         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

crews.  While  the  Krebs  outfit  had  been  handicapped 
by  a  two  weeks'  start  by  their  rivals,  the  men  were 
not  discouraged,  and  went  at  the  work  with  a  will. 
Day  after  day  the  two  structures  grew  with  equal  pro- 
portions. The  Krebs  plant  was  smaller,  which  par- 
tially overcame  the  handicap  of  the  two  weeks  in  favor 
of  the  other. 

The  race  continued  without  pause  for  holidays,  and 
every  available  hour  for  labor  was  used.  On  Memorial 
Day  the  island  mill  crew  bent  their  energies  for  the 
final  effort,  as  word  had  come  that  the  upper  plant 
was  practically  completed.  The  holiday  was  over- 
looked, and  the  men  got  up  early  in  the  morning  to  put 
on  the  finishing  touches.  By  dint  of  hard  labor  they 
succeeded  in  winning  the  race  by  one  day,  and  the  first 
saw  mill  whistle  broke  the  primeval  stillness  of  the 
valley,  carrying  the  dull  news  of  defeat  to  the  men  up 
the  river  who  were  straining  every  effort  that  their 
whistle  should  be  the  first. 


Events  of  Interest. 


The  settlement  in  the  Nehalem  Valley  attracted  the 
attention  of  church  workers  at  an  early  date.  Several 
devout  Christians  resided  here,  and  they  frequently 
met  to  hold  services  at  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood. 
Prayer,  singing  and  bible  reading  composed  the  serv- 
ices, and  frequently  some  of  the  members  of  the  little 
band  of  worshippers  talked  from  bible  texts.  No  at- 
tempt was  made  to  secure  the  services  of  a  pastor,  as 
there  was  not  a  sufficient  number  of  people  to  become 
members  of  a  church  organization  to  support  it.  Luther 
T.  Woodard,  the  presiding  elder  of  the  western  district 
of  Oregon,  with  headquarters  in  the  Willamette  Val- 


EVENTS    OF     INTEREST  105 

ley,  paid  a  visit  to  this  section  in  the  year  1872,  He 
found  the  few  church  members  intensely  enthusiastic 
and  gave  them  much  encouragement.  He  spent  several 
days  among  the  flock  and  accomplished  a  great  deal. 
His  visit  stimulated  the  work  among  those  interested 
and  added  much  to  spread  the  sentiment  throughout 
the  entire  district.  Shortly  after  this  visit,  Rev. 
Woodard  moved  to  Seattle  and  never  after  paid  a  visit 
to  the  valley. 

The  field  was  left  unencouraged,  as  far  as  outside 
aid  was  concerned,  for  ten  years  following  this  visit. 
During  this  time  a  sufficient  number  of  church-going 
people  had  moved  in  to  augment  those  already  here 
and  caused  them  to  consider  the  advisability  of  secur- 
ing a  leader  for  Sunday  services,  during  a  part  of  the 
year  at  least.  Other  sections  of  the  county  were  simi- 
larly situated.  At  Bay  City  there  was  a  small  but 
growing  community.  It  was  decided  that  the  wor- 
shippers of  these  two  places  should  unite  and  together 
employ  someone  to  conduct  the  church  work.  A  con- 
ference of  the  leading  spirits  of  both  places  was  held 
and,  as  a  result,  Rev.  W.  A.  Kemp  was  employed  as 
pastor  of  the  combined  church  work.  He  spent  a  part 
of  his  time  in  the  Nehalem  Valley  and  the  remainder 
at  Bay  City.  No  church  had  been  built  here  up  to  this 
time,  and  the  services  were  continued  at  the  homes  of 
some  of  the  leading  members  of  the  little  flock. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  an  organization  was  per- 
fected among  the  religious  population  of  the  valley, 
and  a  serious  campaign  waged  to  increase  the  member- 
ship. The  main  difficulty  found  to  any  plan  of  central- 
ized worship  was  the  extent  to  which  the  church-going 
population  of  the  valley  was  spread  out.  I\Iany  earnest 
workers  lived  in  the  North  Fork  district,  several  in 
the  South  Fork  area  and  more  at  Nehalem  and  the 
beaches.     The   visiting  pastor  held   services  in    some 


106         STORIES     OF     N  E  H  A  L  E  M 

home  at  these  different  parts  of  the  valley,  and  occa- 
sionally was  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  combined 
meeting  at  which  all  districts  were  well  represented. 
The  condition  of  the  roads  and  trails  through  the  forest 
were  such  that  even  the  most  ardent  worshipper  was 
prevented  from  traveling  any  great  distance  to  attend 
the  religious  services. 

This  condition  continued  for  twelve  years.  About 
the  year  1894  the  membership  of  the  church  had  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  serious  talk  was  in- 
dulged in  in  the  consideration  of  plans  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  house  of  worship.  The  attendance  at 
the  Sunday  services  had  become  so  great  that  the 
capacity  of  the  largest  homes  of  the  district  were  taxed 
to  the  limit,  and  some  plan  was  imperative  by  which 
this  congestion  could  be  relieved.  The  members  had 
been  desirous  for  some  time  of  securing  a  centrally 
located  place  in  which  to  worship,  but  the  main  diffi- 
culty was  in  selecting  the  place  at  which  all  could  be 
accommodated  and  a  medium  in  distance  from  all. 
After  much  talk  and  a  considerable  amount  of  work 
among  the  members,  it  was  decided  that  Upper  Neha- 
lem  would  be  the  most  convenient  place  for  the  house 
of  worship.  A  committee  was  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  funds  and  making  plans.  This  action 
encouraged  the  members  to  a  wonderful  extent.  A 
church  of  their  own  would  be  a  source  of  pride  to  the 
residents  of  the  valley. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  raise  sufficient  funds  to  war- 
rant the  success  of  the  plan  to  build,  and  active  prepa- 
rations were  made.  J.  M.  Alley,  who  came  to  the  val- 
ley in  1882,  was  one  of  the  hard  workers  for  the  new 
building.  Everyone  did  something  for  the  new  edifice, 
and  many  donated  material  and  labor.  As  a  result  of 
the  enterprise  and  work  the  church  was  completed  and 
dedicated  in  1894.     Steven  Scovell  "hewed"  the  cor- 


EVENTS    OF     INTEREST  107 

nerstone  for  the  ishurch  from  a  chunk  of  cedar.  This 
relic  of  the  enterprise  of  the  worshippers  is  now  pre- 
served in  tlie  modern  edifice  built  a  few  years  ago  at 
Nehalem.  In  this  cornerstone  a  bible,  some  church 
data  and  interesting  papers  were  placed.  The  church 
building  is  now  standing  at  Upper  Nehalem.  The 
cedar  cornerpost  in  which  the  relies  were  placed  was 
taken  out  when  the  building  was  raised,  and  is  now 
preserved  as  a  reminder  of  the  early  church  members. 


Hotels  of  the  Valley. 

During  the  fall  of  each  year  many  fishermen  from 
the  Columbia  and  other  waters  came  to  the  river  to 
reap  a  harvest  during  the  season.  Strangers  frequently 
made  their  way  across  the  trail  and  spent  days  in  the 
Nehalem  district,  or  stopped  over  night  on  their  jour- 
ney to  Tillamook  or  to  the  outside.  As  the  number  of 
these  travelers  increased  it  became  necessary  to  pro- 
vide some  accommodations.  Residents  of  the  valley 
were  always  ready  to  extend  the  hand  of  welcome  to 
those  coming  here,  but  guests  did  not  look  upon  this 
form  of  accommodation  as  satisfactory.  It  was  not 
until  the  year  1888,  however,  that  the  number  of  vis- 
itors came  in  such  numbers  as  to  require  special  atten- 
tion or  to  warrant  anyone  in  conducting  a  hotel. 

During  this  year  Henry  Tohl,  who  had  purchased 
the  Sam  Corwin  place  from  Henry  Ober  and  was  living 
in  the  log  house,  the  ruin  of  which  is  now  standing  on 
the  side  hill,  decided  to  extend  the  hospitality  of  the 
place  to  strangers  in  the  valley.  Many  fishermen 
eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  to  board  there,  and  soon 
the  demands  on  the  hotel  became  so  great  that  help 


108         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

was  needed.  Mrs.  Joseph  Effenberger,  a  sister  of  Mr. 
Tohl,  took  charge  of  the  hostelry  and  conducted  it  dur- 
ing the  year  1888.  The  next  year  it  came  under  the 
care  of  Mrs.  Andrew  Klein,  who  conducted  it  until 
the  patronage  outgrew  the  building  and  a  new  hotel 
was  necessary.  In  1892  a  new  hotel  building  was 
built  on  the  site  of  the  present  Nehalem  Hotel,  and  it 
continued  in  operation  under  the  management  of  Mrs. 
Klein  for  several  years.  When  Mrs.  Klein  retired  from 
the  business  the  property  was  purchased  by  H.  W. 
Tohl,  the  present  proprietor.  Misfortune  visited  the 
place  in  the  year  1911,  when  the  building,  with  several 
adjoining,  were  destroyed  by  fire.  This  was  in  April. 
Mr.  Tohl  was  not  discouraged.  Plans  were  at  once 
made  to  construct  a  larger  and  more  modern  building. 
Work  was  rushed  on  it  during  the  summer,  and  it  was 
opened  to  the  public  in  August  of  that  year. 

Two  years  after  Henry  Tohl  opened  the  hotel  at 
Nehalem,  Ira  J.  Holmes  built  a  building  on  the  river 
bank  at  Upper  Nehalem  and  conducted  it  as  a  hotel. 
At  this  time  the  mill  construction  race  was  on  between 
the  Astoria  company  and  Robert  Krebs  to  see  who 
would  have  the  honor  of  blowing  the  first  whistle  on 
an  industry  in  the  valley.  Many  fishermen,  as  well  as 
mill  laborers,  resided  at  this  place.  The  building  con- 
ducted as  a  hotel  by  Mr.  Holmes  is  now  used  as  the 
Grange  Hall.  The  next  hotel  to  be  built  at  Upper  Ne- 
halem was  that  of  John  Larsen.  He  selected  a  beauti- 
ful and  sightly  location  for  the  place.  It  stands  high 
above  the  river,  on  the  county  road,  and  commands 
a  grand  view  of  both  forks  of  the  river  and  the  valley 
beyond,  as  well  as  a  long  sweep  of  the  most  picturesque 
Nehalem  River  scenery.  For  a  long  time  this  hotel  was 
an  attraction  to  visitors  on  account  of  its  unequalled 
view.    This  hotel  was  built  in  April,  1892. 


THE    FIGHT    FOR    SHIPPING     109 

The  Fight  for  Shipping. 

The  beginning  of  navigation  into  the  Nehalem  River 
was  a  story  of  almost  disheartening  discouragements. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  faith  and  courage  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  shipping  on  the  Oregon  coast,  a  part  of 
this  story  could  not  have  been  written.  While  the 
Nehalem  River  itself  offered  one  of  the  finest  stretches 
of  water  for  miles  from  where  it  enters  the  ocean, 
there  was  a  serious  drawback  at  the  mouth.  Tons  upon 
tons  of  sediment  brought  down  the  river  found  its  way 
to  the  sea,  and  on  meeting  the  adverse  currents  of  the 
ocean  was  deposited,  until  a  dangerous  bank  of  sand 
and  mud  had  accumulated.  This  process  of  filling  was 
continually  going  on,  but  during  the  high  water  pe- 
riods another  danger  was  found. 

When  the  snow  was  melting  in  the  mountains  and 
the  rains  of  winter  adding  greatly  to  the  creeks  enter- 
ing the  Nehalem  River  this  stream  was  a  torrent.  It 
overflowed  its  banks  for  miles  back  in  the  valley, 
sweeping  trees  along  in  its  mad  rush,  and  eating  away 
the  banks  on  either  side.  Each  mile  the  torrent  trav- 
eled added  materially  to  the  burden  of  sediment  it 
carried.  The  high  water,  furthermore,  had  a  tendency 
to  sweep  the  deposits  farther  out  into  the  ocean,  and 
frequently  the  channel  was  changed  when  the  volume 
of  water  met  some  unresisting  place.  Thus,  one  fall 
the  channel  was  located  in  one  place,  and  after  the 
freshets  of  winter  had  subsided  it  was  found  to  be  in 
another.  The  bar  and  the  changing  channel  offered 
dangers  to  cautions  navigators  and  they  hesitated  in 
risking  their  property. 

In  this  manner  the  residents  of  the  valley  were 
thwarted  for  many  years  in  their  attempt  to  secure 
water  tran.sportation  direct  to  the  markets  along  the 
Columbia.      Even    after   the    channel    had   been    con- 


no         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

quered  by  daring  pilots,  nature  seemed  to  be  working 
against  man  in  his  efforts  to  win.  The  first  steam 
vessel  to  enter  the  river  was  the  schooner  0.  K.,  which 
came  with  supplies  for  the  Kinney  cannery.  It  was  in 
charge  of  Captain  J.  AY.  Gearhart,  who  cautiously 
picked  his  way  across  the  bar  and  entered  on  July  4, 
1887.  As  has  been  mentioned  previously,  the  day  was 
being  observed  by  the  people  of  the  valley  by  a  picnic 
further  up  the  river.  A  part  of  the  program  of  that 
day  has  been  preserved  and  is  interesting  to  remember. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Alley ;  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  read  by  Miss  Lilly  Dean, 
now  Mrs.  Fred  Zaddach ;  a  poem  was  read  by  T.  J. 
Alley,  and  an  oration  appropriate  to  the  occasion  de- 
livered by  William  Batterson. 

Shortly  after  the  exercises  had  been  given  a  mes- 
senger appeared  on  the  scene.  He  was  excited  and 
evidently  had  wasted  no  time  in  making  the  distance 
from  down  the  river  to  the  picnic  grounds.  He  brought 
the  news  that  a  steamer  had  entered  the  river  and 
tied  to  the  dock  already  constructed  for  the  Kinney 
cannery.  The  news  was  received  with  the  same  ex- 
cited enthusiasm  as  the  American  people,  ten  years 
later,  received  the  news  of  the  victory  of  Admiral 
Dewey  at  Manila,  or  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish 
fleet  at  Santiago.  Some  could  not  await  the  comple- 
tion of  the  festivities  of  the  day,  but  hurried  to  the 
place  where  the  stranger  was  tied.  July  5  saw  prac- 
tically everyone  in  the  valley  on  the  scene.  It  meant 
much  to  them,  and  a  general  feeling  of  elation  was 
noticed  everywhere.  The  0.  K.  unloaded  her  cargo 
and  made  a  safe  trip  out  over  the  bar  and  to  Astoria. 

This  encouraged  other  pilots  to  tackle  the  previ- 
ously considered  impossible  channel.  The  Queen  of  the 
Bay  entered  the  river  that  fall  with  more  supplies  for 
the  cannery,  and  negotiated  the  bar  on  her  way  out. 


I'li..!.,    I..V    Mayor. 


LOUISE. 


MRS.    ED   GERVAIS. 
Copyright  1915  by   W.  L,  Mayer, 


THE    FIGHT    FOR    SHIPPING     111 

But  disaster  awaited  her  on  the  second  trip.  This  time 
she  was  in  charge  of  Captain  Grounds.  In  some  way 
the  vessel  got  out  of  the  channel  and  struck  the  bar. 
She  drifted  upon  the  beach,  and  was  soon  a  total 
wreck  at  the  hands  of  the  breakers.  This  was  in  the 
fall  of  1887.  The  old  feeling  of  fear  overcame  the 
bravest  of  the  ocean  pilots  following  this  disaster.  The 
Queen  of  the  Bay  was  a  sailing  schooner,  and  her 
wreck  served  as  a  warning  to  vessels  of  her  type 
against  attempting  the  passage  without  proper  pilotage. 

The  Augusta,  which  was  sent  from  Astoria  in  1889 
to  receive  the  cargo  of  fish  salted  the  year  the  cannery 
did  not  run,  was  prevented  from  making  the  passage 
into  the  river  bj-  the  unfortunate  accident  to  the  three 
men  sent  out  to  pilot  her  in,  but  after  the  successful 
trip  of  the  0.  K.  her  owners  were  willing  to  chance 
her  in  the  hands  of  Captain  Paul  Shrader,  and  she 
came  into  the  river  in  the  fall  of  1892  with  a  cargo 
of  miscellaneous  supplies  for  the  valley.  Among  those 
coming  in  on  that  trip  was  the  family  of  Alex.  Ander- 
son. Mr.  Anderson  had  been  here  several  falls  in 
charge  of  the  Kinney  cannery,  and  decided  the  valley 
was  good  enough  in  which  to  live.  He  moved  his 
family,  after  purchasing  the  ranch  where  he  now  lives. 
At  the  same  time  he  shipped  in  the  lumber  for  the 
house  now  standing  on  the  place.  On  her  return  trip 
the  Augusta  took  out  a  cargo  of  cured  salmon. 

Following  the  Augusta,  the  river  was  frequently  vis- 
ited by  other  steam  vessels,  but  the  question  of  nego- 
tiating the  bar  was  ever  a  bugaboo  when  attempts 
were  made  to  have  lumber-carrying  crafts  come  in. 
The  owners  of  vessels  entering  the  river  did  so  at 
their  own  risk,  and  the  captain  of  one  of  the  first  to 
come  in  was  fined  by  the  government  for  violation  of 
navigation  laws.  This  attitude  of  the  government  was 
a  great  hindrance  until  the  regulation  was  removed 


112         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

and  the  river  opened  as  a  safe  and  navigable  water 
in  which  vessels  could  enter  without  fear  of  fines  from 
the  federal  authorities. 

But  the  people  of  the  valley  were  not  discouraged. 
They  sought  to  overcome  the  prejudice  among  ship- 
ping people  and  perfect  the  harbor  conditions  in  order 
to  have  communication  with  the  outside  world.  The 
vast  forests  of  timber  were  awaiting  the  hand  of  enter- 
prise. The  mills  built  and  operated  on  the  river  were 
shipping  cargoes  out,  but  the  schooners  daring  the 
dangers  of  the  bar  were  few.  One  of  the  largest 
bodies  of  standing  timber  in  the  whole  country  be- 
decked the  slopes  of  the  mountains  overlooking  the 
valley,  and  invited  industry  to  come  here  and  reap  a 
harvest  of  wealth.  At  this  time  there  was  no  railroad 
communication  with  the  outside  world,  and  the  pros- 
pect was  not  bright  for  any  for  some  time  to  come. 
The  precipitous  mountains  did  not  offer  a  promising 
field  of  operation  for  this  form  of  enterprise,  and  it  was 
to  the  sea,  the  natural  outlet  for  the  Nehalem  country, 
that  the  people  must  look  for  transportation  relief. 
The  furious  storms  of  winter,  lashing  the  ocean  to  fury, 
the  dangerous  condition  of  the  bar  and  its  shiftings 
as  the  freshets  of  winter  brought  down  fresh  bur- 
dens of  silt  to  deposit  wherever  conditions  directed: 
all  these  combined  to  retard  the  progress,  but  did 
not  lessen  the  determination  of  the  people  to  win  in 
the  fight  for  an  opening. 

The  fight  to  secure  water  transportation  for  the 
enterprise  sure  to  come  to  the  Nehalem  Valley  has 
been  one  worthy  of  remembrance.  It  was  a  long  and 
disheartening  one ;  it  was  a  determined  battle  against 
nature,  against  all  odds  that  could  have  been  placed 
in  the  pathway  of  those  seeking  to  improve  their  con- 
dition in  life.  The  dairy  industry  had  grown  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  demanded  a  better  opening  to  the 


THE    FIGHT    FOR    SHIPPING     113 

markets.  Nature  had  favored  the  valley  vi^ith  !an 
abundance  of  wealth.  Here  she  had  given  rich  and 
fertile  valleys  in  which  the  cattle  could  graze  and  a 
climate  unexcelled,  for  the  dairy  business,  by  that  of 
any  place  on  earth.  It  is  the  ideal  cattle  country,  and 
the  products  from  the  ranches  bring  annually  a  great 
revenue  to  the  farmers.  But  nature  apparently  des- 
tined this  great  producing  power  to  be  utilized  at  home, 
for  she  shut  it  in  by  barriers  that  only  the  greatest 
determination  and  skill  have  overcome.  The  forests  of 
timber  are  vast,  but  they  are  relatively  as  far  from 
the  destined  market  as  though  they  were  in  another 
hemisphere. 

But  people  with  the  realization  of  the  wealth  at 
their  feet  will  not  easily  become  discouraged.  At  least, 
this  has  been  proven  by  the  determined  fight  Nehalem 
Valley  has  made  for  harbor  improvements.  Back  about 
in  the  year  1909  the  matter  had  become  so  serious  that 
a  party  of  determined  and  interested  men  resolved 
that  it  was  not  necessary  to  Avait  longer.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  have  the  government  assist  in  construct- 
ing a  jetty  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  sediment 
of  the  river  farther  out  into  the  ocean  and  cut  a  better 
and  more  permanent  channel  across  the  bar.  These 
men  figured  and  talked,  estimated  and  argued,  until 
they  were  convinced  the  plan  could  be  carried  out,  but 
the  government  was  not  as  enthusiastic  as  they.  The 
federal  authorities  decided  upon  a  waiting  policy,  but 
the  Nehalemites  would  not  wait.  They  wanted  the 
jetty  and  other  harbor  improvements,  and  wanted  them 
while  they  were  alive ;  they  wanted  them  to  assist  in 
building  up  industries  that  could  convert  the  wealth 
into  money.  They  knew  the  present  was  the  time,  and 
there  was  no  reason  for  putting  it  off. 

Finally,  disheartened  at  the  idea  of  the  government 
not  taking  immediate  action,  the  enterprising  spirits  in 


114         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

the  movement  took  the  question  up  with  the  people  of 
the  entire  valley  and  with  those  who  were  financially 
interested.  It  did  not  take  long  to  point  out  the  way 
in  which  the  work  could  be  started  and  by  which  aid 
from  the  government  could  be  more  easily  secured. 
During  the  year  1910  considerable  work  had  been  done 
by  the  moving  spirits,  among  whom  were  C.  H. 
Wheeler,  Henry  Tohl,  H.  V.  Alley  and  Fred  Zaddach. 
When  the  legislature  provided  for  the  organization  of 
ports  by  the  communities  of  the  state,  which  could  in- 
clude the  watersheds  bordering  on  navigable  waters, 
the  workers  saw  their  opportunity.  The  Port  of  Neha- 
lem  was  organized  and  the  four  men  above  named  ap- 
pointed as  commissioners.  It  was  then  that  the  work 
started.  A  tax  was  levied  and  money  raised  with 
which  to  begin  the  construction  of  a  jetty.  The  people 
of  Nehalem  Valley  were  resolved  that,  if  the  govern- 
ment would  not  assist  them,  they  would  make  a  better 
harbor  themselves.  The  action  was  followed  by  a  bond 
issue  and  work  commenced. 

For  two  years  the  enterprising  residents  continued 
the  work  of  extending  the  slender  finger  of  rock  out 
into  the  ocean.  Its  effect  was  soon  seen  by  an  im- 
provement of  the  channel  on  the  bar.  This  encouraged 
them  to  continue  the  enterprise,  and  at  the  same  time 
called  the  attention  of  the  governemnt  to  the  courage- 
ous people  of  the  valley.  The  matter  was  again  taken 
up  with  the  federal  authorities,  and  this  time  the  story 
was  different.  The  government  Avas  willing  to  help 
those  who  were  determined  to  help  themselves,  and  it 
promised  to  stand  one-half  the  expense.  The  work  is 
now  going  on  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner  under  the 
supervision  of  Engineer  W.  G.  Carroll,  representing  the 
government. 

Two  jetties  are  to  be  built,  the  north  and  south. 
Work  at  the  present  time  is  being  rushed  on  the  south 


THE    FIGHT    FOR    SHIPPING     115 

jetty.  This  is  the  longest  and  most  important  of  the 
two.  Its  approximate  length  will  be  4,800  feet  and  it  is 
already  constructed  for  a  distance  of  about  3,350  feet. 
The  work  has  been  under  government  supervision  since 
February,  1914.  and  more  than  70,000  tons  of  rock  have 
been  dumped  to  form  the  wall  holding  back  the  break- 
ers and  guiding  the  freshets.  It  has  been  built  far 
enough  to  prove  the  success  of  the  estimates  of  the 
engineers,  and  already  the  bar  has  been  greatly  im- 
proved and  deepened.  One  thousand  tons  of  rock  are 
required  to  fill  each  bent  of  fifteen  feet  width.  The 
water  is  very  deep  where  the  work  is  now  being  done. 
Seventy-foot  piling  is  required  to  give  the  proper 
penetration  into  the  soil,  and  the  distance  from  the 
floor  of  the  channel  to  the  top  of  the  trestle  is  41  feet. 
The  work  of  the  jetty  in  deepening  the  channel  has 
worked  as  a  handicap  to  the  extension  of  the  project. 
The  high  water  of  fall  and  winter  has  washed  at  the 
end  of  the  jetty,  necessitating  the  use  of  much  more 
material,  but  making  a  stronger  and  more  lasting  jetty. 
Work  on  the  north  jetty  has  not  been  started  as 
yet.  It  will  require  about  eighteen  months  more  of 
work  to  complete  the  south  project,  and  the  north  jetty 
will  not  be  taken  up  until  the  other  is  well  toward 
completion.  It  is  now  estimated  by  the  engineer  in 
charge  that  deeper  draft  vessels  can  safely  enter  the 
bay  and  cross  the  bar  by  fall  of  this  year.  This  means 
the  resumption  of  work  at  all  the  large  lumber  mills 
on  the  river. 


Wrecks. 


The  story  of  marine  disaster  along  the  Nehalem 
Beaches  is  not  a  long  one,  but  what  there  is  of  it  it 
spectacular.     We  cannot  tell  just  how  many  staunch 


116         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

vessels  have  ended  their  usefulness  on  the  five-mile 
stretch  of  beautiful  sands.  Centuries  ago,  so  many 
the  oldest  of  the  Indians  of  the  valley  cannot  count 
them,  Chinese  junks  are  supposed  to  have  wandered 
far  over  the  seas  in  quest  of  markets  or  adventure  and 
met  their  fates  here  among  the  never-tiring  breakers. 
Great  quantities  of  teakwood  have  been  found  along 
the  seawall  where  the  storms  of  winter  have  taken 
them.  This  wood  was  fashioned  into  timbers  by  the 
skillful  hands  of  Oriental  laborers  and  were  the  frames 
of  ships  sailing  the  Pacific  'way  back  in  those  days 
before  the  white  man  solved  the  mysteries  of  the 
earth's  shape.  It  could  not  have  reached  these  shores 
by  any  other  means,  and  we  can  only  conjecture  the 
story  of  the  storm  and  disaster  that  left  them  here. 
The  wood  is  almost  indestructible,  yet  the  action  of 
time  has  softened  the  outer  surface  and  often  eaten 
into  the  heart  of  the  timbers.  This  indicates  that  these 
wrecks  happened  centuries  ago,  so  long  ago  that  the 
memory  of  man  has  lost  them.  The  greatest  mystery 
of  them  all  is  that  of  the  Beeswax  Ship,  related  in  a 
previous  chapter.  Some  claim  these  teakwood  timbers 
came  from  that  craft,  but  it  can  hardly  be  expected  it 
was  of  Oriental  origin. 

The  earlier  navigators  of  the  Nehalem  bar  met 
disaster,  yet  not  of  sufficient  consequence  to  be  count- 
ed as  wrecks.  They  are  interesting,  anyway.  The 
channel  entrance  to  the  river  has  alwaj^s  been  narrow 
and  unreliable.  The  storms  of  winter  brought  great 
quantities  of  water  in  the  freshets  from  the  mountains 
and  these  were  laden  with  sediment.  The  deposits  of 
this  sediment  created  long  fingers  of  sand  extending 
out  into  the  ocean,  and  finalh'  terminated  in  a  bar, 
the  barrier  to  successful  navigation.  The  fingers  of 
sand  frequently  changed,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  captains  could  trace  their  course.     As  a  result, 


WRECKS  117 

many  smaller  crafts  wandered  out  of  their  path  and 
piled  up  on  the  spits,  but  fortune  favored  them.  They 
were  light  in  build  and  could  travel  in  shallow  water; 
some  of  them  are  said  to  have  been  able  to  successfully 
sail  on  a  heavy  dew.  The  first  of  these  to  try  a  rest- 
ing place  on  the  spit  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
Walaska,  bringing  in  supplies  for  the  Kinney  cannery. 
This  craft  was  constructed  more  like  a  scow  than  a 
ship,  and  when  it  went  onto  the  spit  it  simplj'^  wan- 
dered around  for  a  while  to  scrape  the  barnacles  from 
its  bottom  and  was  easily  pulled  into  the  channel. 
The  Myrene  tried  the  experiment  with  success,  and 
after  cleaning  its  bottom  went  out  into  the  channel 
and  was  none  the  worse  for  the  experiment.  The  tug 
Vosburg,  property  of  the  Wheeler  Mill  Company,  has 
traveled  over  the  various  spits  and  sand  bottoms  of  the 
harbor  so  many  times  that  she  can  sail  about  as  easily 
on  land  as  on  the  seas.  She  is  a  powerful  tug  and 
able  to  take  care  of  herself  anywhere. 

Of  the  wrecks  there  are  two  of  sufficient  interest 
to  demand  more  than  passing  notice.  There  have  been 
only  two  on  the  ocean  side  in  which  the  vessels  were 
lost;  yet  there  is  enough  of  sensationalism  connected 
with  the  events  to  make  up  for  many  more.  The  loss 
of  life  associated  with  these  wrecks  has  not  been  great. 
Fate  sent  the  vessels  to  their  doom  under  strange  cir- 
cumstances ;  conditions  which  breathe  of  power  no  one 
can  fathom.  All  were  sailing  vessels,  and  the  fact  that 
they  plowed  onto  the  shore  in  this  awkward  manner  is 
explained  by  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  shore 
line.  To  the  north  is  the  Tilla7nook  Head  rock  forma- 
tion extending  out  into  the  ocean  in  the  form  of  a 
small  peninsula.  To  the  south  is  the  similar  wall  of 
projecting  mountain  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Tilla- 
mook County.  Between  these  projections  the  coast 
line  indents  the  shore,  forming  a  sea  pocket.     In  this 


118         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

sea  pocket  there  is  no  current  of  air  to  assist  the  sailor 
in  navigating  his  vessel.  Once  in  here,  vi^hen  the  wind 
is  blowing  along  the  coast  in  certain  directions,  a  sail- 
ing ship  is  really  in  a  calm,  and  is  left  to  the  mercy  of 
the  sea,  which  has  a  tendency  to  gradually  draw  the 
craft  to  shore.  This  is  one  of  the  ways  ship  captains 
explain  the  two  wrecks  recorded  for  the  Nehalem 
shore. 

The  first  of  modern  ships  to  wreck  here  was  the 
German  bark  Mimi,  which  went  ashore  one  evening 
in  February,  1913.  It  was  a  steel  built  vessel  and 
was  on  her  way  to  the  Cohimbia  in  ballast.  For  sev- 
eral days  the  ship  had  been  beating  up  the  coast  in 
a  heavy  fog.  The  sun  had  not  penetrated  the  veil  for 
days,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  captain  to  secure 
his  reckonings.  He  thought  he  had  reached  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  Before  he  could  dis- 
cover his  location  the  sound  of  breakers  was  heard 
ahead,  and  the  ship,  under  sail,  piled  up  on  the  beach. 
She  came  in  head  on  and  stuck  fast.  Rockets  were 
at  once  sent  up,  and  the  distressed  vessel  soon  received 
what  assistance  could  be  given  from  Brighton,  where 
the  signals  were  first  seen.  The  impossibility  of  easily 
taking  the  ship  from  her  position  was  soon  apparent, 
and  the  crew  waited  for  low  tide.  When  the  tide  had 
gone  out  the  crew  was  able  to  walk  ashore  on  the 
sand.  Each  succeeding  high  tide  carried  the  stranded 
vessel  higher  and  higher  on  the  beach.  During  all  this 
time  the  vessel  stood  erect  without  the  sign  of  a  list. 

Wrecking  crews  visited  the  scene  and  decided  it 
was  possible  to  drag  the  Mimi  from  the  beach.  Her 
steel  hull  stood  the  strain  remarkably  well,  and  she 
soon  settled  into  a  bed  of  sand  which  made  her  posi- 
tion safe.  Great  anchors  were  secured  and  placed  far 
out  in  the  water  beyond  the  breakers.  To  these  heavy 
lines  were  fastened  and  brought  to  shore.     Donkey 


WRECKS  119 

engines  %vere  located  on  shore  and  one  on  the  vessel 
in  order  to  move  her.  Finallj^,  when  all  was  well,  the 
ballast  was  removed  from  the  hull  and  the  engines  set 
in  motion.  The  highest  tide  of  the  month  of  April  was 
selected  for  the  final  test.  When  all  was  in  readiness 
a  signal  was  given  from  the  vessel  and  the  big  engines 
began  to  work  in  harmony-.  The  calculations  of  the 
wreckers  were  correct.  The  ship  gradually  moved  out 
to  sea  and  was  soon  in  the  first  of  the  breakers.  Un- 
fortunately, too  much  of  the  ballast  was  taken  from 
the  hull  and  the  masts  were  permitted  to  remain  stand- 
ing. This  made  the  ship  topheavy,  and  when  the 
breakers  hit  her  she  turned  on  her  side  and  went  down. 
The  water  was  shallow  and  oulj'-  a  part  of  her  hull  was 
submerged.  An  explosion  on  the  vessel  warned  the 
watchers  on  shore  that  something  had  happened,  and 
active  preparations  were  made  to  save  as  many  of 
those  on  board  as  possible.  The  vessel  was  taken  from 
the  beach  shortly  after  midnight,  and  the  darkness  pre- 
vented the  rescuers  from  doing  anything  until  morn- 
ing. Soon  wreckage  from  the  ship  made  its  appear- 
ance on  shore,  and  the  men  realized  the  worst  had  hap- 
pened. There  were  tAventy  men  on  the  ship  when  she 
left  the  shore.  A  part  of  the  crew  remained  with  the 
vessel,  and  the  remainder  of  the  number  was  made  up 
of  workmen  who  assisted  in  the  undertaking  of  remov- 
ing the  ship  and  officers  of  the  engineering  company  in 
charge. 

The  three  mates  of  the  vessel  left  before  it  had 
reached  the  breakers  and  were  saved.  One  of  the 
mates  had  warned  the  captain  and  others  that  the  Mimi 
would  not  stand  up  in  the  breakers  with  her  masts  in 
position  and  no  ballast  in  her  hold.  For  this  reason 
they  were  not  willing  to  take  chances  with  her.  They 
were  all  mon  of  long  experience  on  the  water  and 
knew    the    dangers    to    be    encountered.      On    Sunday 


120         STORIES    OF     NEHALEM 

morning,  with  the  breaking  of  day  and  as  soon  as  it 
was  light  enough  to  see,  the  life  saving  crew  from  Gari- 
baldi was  hastened  to  the  scene,  and  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple who  heard  of  the  disaster  appeared.  All  that  long 
day  attempts  were  made  to  reach  the  ship  and  those 
who  might  be  alive  aboard  her.  She  was  lying  so  close 
to  shore  that  at  low  tide  the  cries  of  the  men  could 
be  distinctly  heard.  The  attempts  of  the  Garibaldi 
crew  were  fruitless,  and  a  call  was  sent  to  the  Colum- 
bia River  crew  to  come.  It  was  late  on  Sunday  after- 
noon that  the  Columbia  station  received  the  summons, 
but  they  hastily  prepared  for  the  trip.  Between  three 
and  four  o'clock  on  Monday  morning  the  tender  for 
the  Columbia  crew  was  sighted  a  short  way  off  shore, 
and  the  watchers  renewed  hope,  although  they  feared 
none  of  the  men  on  the  ship  could  possibly  stand  the 
long  exposure  in  an  April  wind,  soaked  with  ice-cold 
water  and  without  food. 

As  soon  as  day  dawned  the  Columbia  crew  was 
seen  making  its  way  in  toward  the  wrecked  vessel 
with  all  speed.  It  was  an  inspiring  sight  to  see  them 
dashing  through  breakers,  fearless  of  life  and  deter- 
mined to  deprive  the  angry  ocean  of  its  prey.  The  Gari- 
baldi crew  got  into  action  and,  without  difficulty,  made 
their  way  to  the  Mimi  and  took  the  four  survivors 
from  the  wreck.  The  run  of  the  Columbia  crew  was 
one  of  the  prettiest  sights  ever  seen  on  the  coast.  The 
little  craft  rode  high  on  the  breakers  out  beyond  the 
vessel,  then  slid  down  into  the  trough  of  the  sea,  dis- 
appearing entirely  from  view,  and  those  on  shore  won- 
dering whether  the  boat  would  make  its  appearance 
again.  Then  the  nose  of  the  boat  showed  through  a 
wall  of  breakers  and  speedily  the  craft  burst  into  sight. 
People  on  shore  cheered  at  the  top  of  their  voices  to 
witness  this  feat  of  daring.  It  was  an  inspiration  and 
hundreds  of  prayers  were  whispered  for  the  success 


WRECKS  l2i 

of  this  fearless  crew.  Of  the  twenty  aboard  the  Mimi 
when  she  was  taken  from  the  shore,  only  four  survived. 
The  bodies  of  six  others  were  finally  recovered.  For  a 
few  months  after  capsizing,  the  ship  could  be  seen 
laying  on  her  side,  where  the  breakers  could  pound 
her  hardest.  Finally,  as  though  the  hand  of  fate 
wished  to  wipe  out  all  remembrance  of  the  tragedy, 
she  disappeared  from  sight  entirely.  Whether  the  hull 
collapsed  from  the  constant  pounding  of  the  breakers 
or  whether  she  settled  in  the  sand  is  not  known. 

The  last  of  the  wrecks  of  Nehalera  happened  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year.  It  was  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque of  any  recorded  in  the  world.  The  Glenesslyn, 
an  English  ship  laden  with  cement,  sailed  into  the 
rocky  point  at  the  base  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Mountain  on 
the  afternoon  of  October  1,  1913.  Like  a  seagull  the 
ship,  with  all  sails  set,  plowed  her  way  through  the 
breakers  and  piled  up  on  the  rocks.  It  was  broad  day 
light  and  the  residents  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  Beach  could 
hardly  believe  their  eyes  when  they  saw  the  vessel 
standing  at  the  foot  of  the  rocky  point  and  ready  to 
do  battle  with  wind  or  gale.  S.  G.  Reed  hastened  to 
the  scene  and  assisted  the  crew  in  placing  a  line  to 
shore.  The  crew  left  the  vessel  without  as  much  as 
wetting  their  feet.  The  ship  stood  among  the  rocks 
and,  at  low  tide,  was  a  spectacular  sight  as  she  ap- 
peared almost  naked  upon  the  rocks.  But  she  did  not 
stand  the  incessant  pound  of  the  breakers  during  the 
storms  that  followed  and,  within  two  months,  only  a 
little  wreckage  was  left  to  remind  visitors  of  the  dis- 
aster. 

Chunks  of  coal  are  frequently  found  along  the 
Nehalem  Beach  and  far  to  the  south  along  the  Gari- 
baldi and  Bayoceau  Beaches.  These  pieces  of  con- 
densed silence  are  mute  reminders  of  the  ill-fated 
Emily  (i.  Reed,  which  went  to  her  last  harbor  about  a 


122         STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

mile  below  Brighton  on  Garibaldi  Beach  one  night  dur- 
ing the  fall  of  1908.  She  Avas  coal  laden  for  the  Colum- 
bia River  and  came  onto  the  beach  a  short  distance 
south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Nehalem  River.  She  was  a 
wooden  ship,  old  and  unable  to  withstand  the  heavy 
surf.  A  few  hours  after  reaching  the  beach  she  was 
a  wreck  and  the  members  of  the  crew  were  helpless. 
Seven  lives  were  lost  and  the  survivors  suffered  con- 
siderably until  they  were  able  to  find  a  hospitable  cabin 
and  receive  assistance.  At  this  time  Garibaldi  Beach 
was  almost  uninhabited.  A  few  cabins  were  scattered 
its  entire  length  and  the  members  of  the  crew,  who 
succeeded  in  making  shore,  were  scantily  supplied  with 
clothing  to  protect  them  from  the  biting  winds.  The 
survivors  were  cared  for  by  the  residents  of  Nehalem 
and  some  went  to  Tillamook  Bay  with  the  life-saving 
crew,  which  was  called  to  the  wreck.  The  residents  of 
the  valley  and  along  the  beaches  gathered  a  supply  of 
coal  from  the  great  quantity  washed  ashore  and  to  this 
day  many  pieces  are  found. 

During  one  of  those  furious  gales  that  swept  the 
coast  during  the  winter  and  early  spring  of  1915,  the 
Francis  R.  Leggett  foundered  off  Tillamook  Head,  a 
few  miles  north  of  the  beach,  and  was  lost.  She  was 
from  the  Grays  Harbor  district  loaded  with  railroad 
ties  and  lath.  A  few  passengers  were  aboard  her  at 
the  time  and,  with  her  crew,  more  than  seventy  people 
had  entrusted  their  lives  to  the  ill-fated  vessel.  A 
few  days  after  the  vessel  had  been  discovered  in  dis- 
tress, a  great  quantity  of  ties  and  bundles  of  lath 
came  upon  Nehalem  Beach.  In  front  of  Manzanita  the 
shore  was  piled  with  wreckage  and  from  the  base  of 
Neah-Kah-Nie  to  Necarney  City  thousands  of  ties  were 
picked  up.  To  make  the  story  of  the  wreck  more  grim 
the  body  of  a  woman  came  ashore  among  the  rocks  at 
the  base  of  the  mountain.    She  was  one  of  the  passen- 


WRECKS  123 

gers  of  the  unfortunate  Leggett.  Thousands  of  the 
ties  from  this  wreck  were  hauled  to  the  railroad  and 
sold  by  those  who  were  enterprising  enough  to  gather 
the  harvest  the  storm  had  brought.  Very  little  wreck- 
age from  the  hull  of  the  vessel  itself  came  in.  She 
evidently  foundered  far  out  at  sea  and  sank,  or  was 
drifted  out  of  the  path  of  navigation  along  the  coast. 
Two  from  the  wrecked  vessel  were  rescued.  They  had 
floated  by  clinging  to  ties  and  wreckage,  and  finally 
drifted  ashore  to  be  saved.  One  of  these,  a  man,  was 
picked  up  far  to  the  north  of  where  the  vessel  foun- 
dered and  almost  to  the  harbor  from  which  the  Leggett 
had  cleared. 


Newspaper  Pioneering. 

The  pioneer  newspaper  publisher  had  a  life  of  ex- 
periences that  was  outclassed  only  by  the  earliest  set- 
tler who  had  missed  a  boat  and  had  to  wait  six  months 
before  securing  another  supply  of  provisions.  The 
first  papers  published  here  served  the  purpose  of  dis- 
pensing all  general  information  secured  by  the  public, 
and  their  appearance  was  looked  forward  to  with 
great  interest.  Daily  papers  seldom  wandered  into  the 
new  country  and,  although  Portland  was  only  a  few 
miles  away,  news  from  that  place  was  scarce  enough 
to  make  any  kind  of  a  paper  welcomed  into  all  the 
homes.  Politics,  general  and  foreign  news  was  a 
rarity  in  these  parts  except  what  occasionally  leaked 
in  over  the  telegraph  wire  working  part  of  the  time 
between  the  Tillamook  C'ounty  points  and  Portland. 
The  newspaper  publisher  must  have  been  a  man  of 
exceptional  ability  and  resourcefulness.  While  the 
annual  issues  of  the  early  local  papers  would  scarcely 


124         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

require  much  more  paper  than  a  couple  of  regular 
copies  of  the  Sunday  Oregonian,  the  publisher  could 
not  always  figure  on  the  exact  amount  he  would  need 
or  when  he  would  be  able  to  secure  the  next.  It  fre- 
quently happened  that  the  supply  of  printing  material 
ran  out  and  it  was  at  these  times  that  the  skill  of  the 
publisher  was  brought  into  play.  It  was  not  rare  to 
receive  the  home  weekly  printed  on  the  old  straw 
wrapping  paper  found  in  the  grocery  stores  in  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.  Anything  the 
printer  happened  to  have  in  stock  was  pressed  into 
service  and  when  this  failed  a  raid  was  made  on  the 
town  grocery. 

One  of  the  earliest  publishers  had  a  particular  ad- 
vantage over  the  usual  occupants  of  the  newspaper 
field.  He  was  telegraph  operator  as  well  as  editor  of 
the  local  weekly  and  was  in  constant  touch  with  the 
outside  world.  One  can  readily  appreciate  that  along 
about  1890  a  telegraph  operator  located  at  this  place 
would  not  be  over-crowded  with  work  on  the  wire. 
There,  also,  would  not  be  any  too  much  excitement 
going  on  to  distract  his  thought  from  the  world  beyond 
the  mountains.  Among  the  "boys  of  the  key"  there 
has  always  existed  a  brotherhood  that  includes  those 
working  the  shifts  in  the  smaller  towns  where  news 
is  frequently  wanting.  For  this  reason,  the  operator 
in  these  isolated  places  is  at  liberty  to  call  up  during 
the  dull  shifts  and  "talk"  over  the  events  of  the  day. 
The  operators  in  the  larger  cities  are  ever  ready  to 
accommodate  these  "outsiders"  and  many  a  lonesome 
fellow  finds  life  a  little  easier  on  account  of  these 
conversations.  Much  of  the  important  news  of  the 
outside  world  thus  finds  its  way  into  towns  long  before 
the  newspapers  from  the  big  cities  could  possibly  reach 
there. 

Among  those  who  possessed  the  key  to  this  valu- 


NEWSPAPER    PIONEERING      125 

able  news  sonree  was  Giles  B.  Johnson,  who  suc- 
ceeded J,  S.  Dillinger  as  publisher  of  the  first  news- 
paper in  the  Nehalem  Valley.  Mr.  Dillinger,  now  the 
leading  publisher  of  Astoria,  brought  the  first  news- 
paper plant  to  the  valley  in  the  spring  of  1890.  It 
was  located  in  a  building  on  the  island  opposite  the 
present  City  of  Nehalem  in  connection  with  the  mill 
built  there  that  year  by  Astoria  capitalists.  He  op- 
erated the  paper  during  that  summer,  when  the  plant 
was  sold  to  Giles  B.  Johnson,  who  came  into  the  sec- 
tion as  operator  at  Nehalem  for  the  first  telegraph 
line  constructed  into  the  district.  This  line  extended 
from  Portland  to  Tillamook,  with  a  station  at  Nehalem. 
It  was  not  particularly  a  success  and  soon  came  into 
disuse.  Johnson  conducted  the  paper  in  connection 
with  the  telegraph  office.  The  plant  was  operated  on 
the  island  for  a  short  time  after  Johnson  purchased  it 
and  later  moved  to  Upper  Nehalem,  where  it  was 
published  for  many  years.  The  name  of  this  first  ex- 
periment in  the  newspaper  line  was  the  Nehalem 
Times,  the  same  as  that  of  the  present  occupant  of  the 
field,  but  many  years  intervened  from  the  date  the 
first  Times  suspended  until  the  latter  appeared. 

The  old  building  used  by  the  Times  as  an  office  is 
now  standing  on  the  river  front  at  Tipper  Nehalem 
and  the  sign  was  recently  brought  to  light  by  an  in- 
quisitive investigator  and  placed  over  the  door  in 
remembrance  of  early  days.  Few  copies  of  this  infant 
in  the  Oregon  newspaper  field  are  now  to  be  found. 
It  was  a  small,  four-page  edition  devoted  to  a  very 
liberal  interpretation  of  what  little  local  news  could 
be  gathered  in  the  valley,  with  some  outside  news  and 
a  limited  advertising  patronage.  At  the  time  the 
paper  was  started  houses  were  few  and  far  between 
either  at  Lower  or  Tipper  Nehalem,  but  the  paper  was 
sufficiently  lively  to  make  it  of  interest  and  the  sub- 


126         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

scriptions  recompensed  the  publisher  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent for  his  labors.  One  store  in  each  of  these  places 
was  all  the  valley  could  boast  at  the  initiation  of  the 
early  Times,  but  the  spirit  of  progress  was  in  the  air 
and  the  paper  was  most  liberally  patronized  by  those 
who  desired  that  the  doings  and  growth  of  the  new 
district  should  be  appropriately  heralded  to  the  world 
beyond  the  mountains. 

But  Johnson  met  his  Waterloo  during  the  cam- 
paign of  1896.  He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  most  of  the  people  in  the  val- 
ley were  equally  as  ardent  in  favor  of  McKinley,  who 
was  leading  the  fight  for  the  Republicans.  The  vic- 
tory of  the  latter  left  the  publisher  of  the  paper  in  a 
very  embarrassing  position.  His  hard  fight  for  the 
principles  in  which  he  believed  caused  a  great  deal  of 
enmity  among  those  who  formerly  supported  him,  and 
the  patronage  gradually  decreased.  Johnson  fought 
valiantly  to  retain  the  field,  but,  finally,  sought  to  use 
a  Republican  salve  with  which  to  regain  the  lost  sup- 
port. In  order  to  do  this,  he  sold  a  half  interest  in 
the  paper  to  R.  M.  Watson,  a  strong  Republican. 
They  ran  the  paper  together  until  the  next  year,  1897, 
when  Johnson  quit  the  field  for  a  more  Democratic 
community.  But,  even  after  inoculation  with  concen- 
trated Republican  serum,  the  paper  was  not  a  healthy 
patient.  Watson  nursed  it  along  for  some  time,  but 
gave  up  the  attempt  and  moved  the  paper,  plant  and 
all,  to  Tillamook.  This  ended  the  prospect  of  having  a 
home  paper  for  some  time. 

The  next  revival  was  when  James  Gray  'started  a 
small  paper  in  Nehalem  in  1905,  which  survived  only  a 
few  issues.  Later,  in  1909,  the  Nehalem  Enterprise  was 
started  by  Hugo  F.  Effenberger,  who  conducted  it 
until  1913,  when  the  plant  was  moved  across  the 
river  to  Wheeler  and  the  name  of  the  paper  changed  to 


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WRECK   OF  THE   MIMI. 


I'lidto   ]<y   Maj-cr. 


NEWSPAPER    PIONEERING      127 

the  Nehalem  Valley  Reporter.  The  present  Nehalem 
Times  resulted  from  the  demand  of  the  people  of  the 
city  to  have  a  representative  publication  and  came  into 
existence  in  April,  1914. 


Banking*. 

The  first  bank  in  the  Nehalem  Valley  was  the  old 
reliable  and  popular  family  institution,  the  stocking. 
The  security  of  this  bank  depended  upon  the  secrecy 
of  the  hiding  place  and,  frequently,  it  was  so  safely 
hidden  from  the  general  members  of  the  household 
that  the  one  depositing  it  forgot  where  it  was  placed. 
The  necessity  for  banks  of  this  kind  was  the  scarcity 
of  important  business  transactions  and  still  greater 
scarcity  of  coin.  The  residents  traded  their  goods  to 
a  great  extent  with  the  merchants  and  a  medium  of 
exchange  of  the  character  of  money  was  not  of  a 
great  necessity.  In  the  earliest  days,  there  was  not 
enough  business  transacted  to  keep  a  live  bank  clerk 
busy  for  one  day  and,  later,  the  merchants  conducting 
stores  at  Upper  and  Lower  Nehalem  acted  in  the 
capacity  of  local  banker. 

It  was  not  until  the  introduction  and  establishment 
of  manufacturing  enterprises,  where  a  large  number 
of  men  were  employed,  that  a  banking  institution 
became  a  necessity.  The  growth  of  the  cheese  indus- 
try and  the  operation  of  lumber  mills,  with  their  at- 
tendant logging  camps,  soon,  however,  created  a  field 
for  a  bank.  In  the  year  1909  this  demand  became  so 
imperative  that  the  residents  of  the  valley  considered 
the  idea  of  forming  a  banking  corporation.  Prank  A. 
Rowe  entered  the  valley  and  with  his  characteristic 


128         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

enterprise  and  foresight  saw  the  need  and  oppor- 
tunity of  making  this  section  independent  in  th«  com- 
mercial world.  With  the  assistance  of  some  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  valley,  he  formed  the  Nehalem 
Valley  Bank.  W.  B.  Starr  was  chosen  as  president 
of  the  institution  and  F.  A.  Rowe  as  cashier.  The 
bank  opened  for  business  on  October  28,  1909,  in  the 
Clay  Daniels  building  at  Nehalem  and  quickly  took  its 
position  among  the  growing  financial  institutions  of 
Tillamook  County.  It  continued  in  operation  at  the 
place  of  its  original  location  until  May  29,  1913,  when 
it  was  moved  across  the  river  to  the  new  city  of 
Wheeler. 


Metropolitan  Days. 

The  establishment  of  industry  and  the  prospects 
of  an  increase  of  population  resulting  from  the  de- 
velopment of  the  valley's  resources  caused  the  people 
to  consider  what  it  all  would  mean  to  them.  Ship- 
ping centers  must  be  established  and  trading  posts 
built.  Somewhere  in  the  valley  must  be  places  where 
families  could  live  and  secure  the  necessities  of  life, 
where  the  commerce  of  the  coast  could  find  anchorage 
and  a  place  for  the  discharge  and  receipt  of  cargoes. 
Nehalem  Valley  was  fast  approaching  the  position  of 
such  industrial  advancement  that  it  was  necessary  to 
put  on  metropolitan  airs. 

Up  to  this  time  the  only  store  ever  existing  in  the 
valley  was  the  one  conducted  at  the  Kinney  cannery 
during  the  fishing  season.  This  served  the  purpose 
while  it  was  open,  but  it  was  possible  to  trade  there 
only  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  A  stock  of 
goods  was  brought  to  the  store  just  before  the  fishing 


METROPOLITAN     DAYS         129 

season  started  and  most  of  the  supply  was  sold  by 
the  time  the  cannery  ended  its  run.  Any  goods  left 
over  were  disposed  of  by  the  watchman,  but  the  stock 
had  been  exceptionally  well  depleted  by  that  time  and 
the  purchasers  had  little  choice  of  articles.  It  did  not 
matter  how  particular  the  purchaser  might  be,  he  or 
she  had  to  take  what  was  left  and  that  was  all  there 
was  to  it.  Style  had  not  found  its  way  into  the  valley 
and  vanity  was  still  held  back  by  the  great  wall  of 
mountains  shutting  the  district  out  from  the  world 
about  it. 

The  difficulty  of  shipping  goods  to  this  store  are 
exemplified  by  the  experience  of  Alex  Anderson,  who 
was  superintendent  of  the  Kinney  cannery,  from  the 
time  it  started  until  it  was  finally  sold  to  the  Elmore 
Company.  Kinney  had  shipped  a  good  supply  lof 
merchandise  to  Nehalem  on  the  steamer,  Queen  of  the 
Bay.  Anderson  promised  the  captain  he  would  meet 
the  boat  at  Garibaldi,  at  which  place  she  was  to  un- 
load before  coming  here,  and  pilot  her  into  Nehalem 
Bay.  lie  went  to  Garibaldi  and  spent  a  most  unpleas- 
ant week  seated  at  Bar  View  awaiting  her  arrival.  It 
was  not  a  pleasant  task,  but  he  stuck  to  it  with  de- 
termination until  a  whole  week  had  passed.  lie  was 
needed  at  the  cannery,  but  the  cannery  needed  the 
supplies  just  as  bad  and  he  decided  to  withstand  the 
unhappy  job  of  watchful  waiting.  The  Queen  of  the 
Bay  did  not  put  in  her  appearance  at  the  end  of  the 
week  and  Anderson  came  to  the  conclusion  she  was 
not  coming.  He  took  the  electric  railway  (on  foot) 
up  Garibaldi  Beach. 

A  few  days  after  returning  home,  the  Queen  made 
her  appearance  at  Garibaldi,  unloaded  her  cargo  for 
that  place  and  made  her  way  up  the  coast  to  Nehalem 
River.  The  captain  decided  ho  did  not  need  the  serv- 
ice of  an  expert  to  pilot  the  vessel  in  the  channel  and 


130         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

tried  to  enter.  He  piled  up  on  the  spit  and  for  the 
next  few  days  there  were  busy  times  on  the  beach. 
The  supplies  for  the  cannery  were  removed  from  the 
wreck  at  low  tide  and  piled  on  the  beach.  The  Indians 
living  about  the  lower  river  were  in  need  of  provisions 
and  anything  in  the  cargo  that  might  look  good  to 
them.  There  was  a  miscellaneous  assortment  of  gro- 
ceries, boots,  shoes,  dry  goods  and  vari-colored  cloth. 
The  latter  looked  good  to  the  squaws  and  the  eating 
material  appealed  to  the  hearts  of  the  braves.  Ander- 
son had  one  of  the  busiest  times  of  his  life  salvaging 
the  cargo  from  the  natives  after  it  had  been  saved  from 
the  sea.  He  spent  one  disagreeable  night  on  the  spit 
on  guard.  He  got  rheumatism,  lumbago,  spavins  and 
a  half  dozen  other  diseases  from  the  cold  and  cheerless 
breezes  sweeping  in  from  the  sea.  The  job  was  one 
not  intended  for  a  man  with  any  weakness,  either  for 
rest  or  health.  Anderson  laughs  at  the  experience  and 
the  necessity  for  keeping  awake  as  a  dusky  form  was 
occasionally  disclosed  in  the  semi-darkness.  He  got 
through  the  night  and  saved  the  goods,  but  he  says  he 
was  not  lonesome  any  of  the  time ;  he  had  the  company 
of  several  who  hoped  he  might  go  to  sleep  for  a  few 
moments  and  give  them  a  chance  to  purchase  some  of 
the  goods  without  the  formality  of  examining  them 
by  daylight.  • 

This  was  not  the  only  time  when  the  dangers  of 
the  bar  were  brought  home  to  the  cannery  operators 
in  a  forceable  manner.  The  steam  mud  scow  Wilaska — 
it  looked  more  like  a  mud  scow  than  anything  else 
and  was  propelled  by  steam — made  the  attempt  to 
negotiate  the  passage  without  the  formality  of  a 
pilot.  It  got  as  far  as  the  north  spit  and  decided  to 
take  a  rest.  The  captain  wandered  out  of  the  channel 
and  landed  on  the  sand  in  a  most  inconvenient  man- 
ner.    The  tide  was  going  out  and,  when  it  had  finally 


METROPOLITAN     DAYS        131 

reached  the  low  water  mark,  the  Wilaska  loomed  up 
on  the  sand  like  a  wart  on  a  log.  It  was  high  and  dry, 
and  resting  in  an  easy  position.  Anyone  could  see  the 
entire  outlines  of  the  puny  liner,  but  one  glance  was 
all  anyone  needed  to  reject  the  model  as  impossible. 
The  captain  of  the  craft  made  his  way  to  the  cannery 
and,  in  sorrowful  terms,  announced  the  wreck  of  his 
staunch  vessel.  The  sea  was  calm  at  the  time  and 
Anderson  knew  there  was  no  danger. 

Several  fishing  boats  were  taken  to  the  scene  and 
it  was  found  the  boat  had  wandered  only  a  short  way 
out  of  the  channel.  The  captain  was  in  for  pitching 
the  cargo,  which  included  the  boiler  for  the  cannery, 
overboard.  Anderson  told  him  the  boiler  would  stay 
where  it  was.  An  anchor  was  placed  in  the  channel 
and  the  men  awaited  the  incoming  tide.  It  did  not 
take  long  for  the  craft  to  float  and,  with  little  diffi- 
culty, it  was  hauled  back  into  the  channel.  It  was 
piloted  to  the  cannery  and  tied  up.  The  Wilaska  had 
not  sustained  the  least  damage  and  was  able  to  make 
her  way  out,  after  discharging  cargo,  and  arrived 
safely  at  Astoria,  but  she  never  visited  Nehalem  again. 

But  we  have  wandered  away  from  the  story  of  the 
first  store  opened  in  the  valley  and  the  beginning  of 
metropolitan  days.  Long  about  1890,  Edward  E.  W. 
Wist  came  to  the  valley  and  saw  an  opportunity  for 
someone  with  the  ingenuity  to  start  something.  He 
made  several  trips  up  and  down  the  river  and  de- 
cided that  Upper  Nehalem  was  the  place  where  the 
future  shipping  center  of  the  valley  was  to  be  located. 
He  secured  a  tract  of  land  and  laid  it  out  in  town 
lots,  naming  it  Nehalem,  after  the  Indians  resident  in 
the  district.  It  began  to  look  real  citified,  with  town 
lots  for  sale  and  things  assuming  a  modern  air.  This 
first  attempt  to  centralize  afi'airs  had  the  desired  effect. 
Many  people  bought  lots  and  some  built  houses  on 


132         STORIES    OF    NEHALEM 

them,  but  Wist  soon  found  the  best  way  to  have  a 
trading  center  was  to  have  something  to  trade  and  a 
iplaee  in  which  to  trade  it.  A  store  was  necessary  and 
he  opened  one  in  the  fall  of  1890.  It  was  in  a  small 
building  near  the  river  and  the  stock  was  not  exten- 
sive, but  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  com- 
munity. The  post  office  was  moved  to  the  store  and  in 
a  short  time  Nehalem  assumed  the  appearance  of  a 
thriving  town.  At  this  time  the  present  city  of  Neha- 
lem was  unborn  and  Upper  Nehalem  was  the  chief 
center  of  the  entire  valley.  The  store  in  connection 
with  the  Kinney  cannery  was  closed  that  year. 

With  the  location  of  the  post  office  in  the  Wist 
store  it  began  to  look  as  though  the  shipping  and 
trading  center  of  the  valley  would  remain  at  this 
place.  There  was  plenty  of  deep  water  and  good 
dockage  for  ships  that  might  come  here.  The  town 
began  to  grow  with  all  the  vigor  of  youth.  But  there 
were  others  who  had  plans  of  their  own  and  rivalry 
entered  the  field.  Henry  Tohl  had  leased  the  Corwin 
place  and  decided  it  offered  more  inducements  as  the 
location  of  a  city  than  as  a  farm.  In  the  spring  of 
1891  he  built  a  small  building  on  the  river  front  near 
what  is  known  as  Tohl's  old  store  and  placed  a  small 
stock  of  goods  in  it.  This  new  trading  center  was 
called  Nehalem  and  in  September  of  that  year,  Mr. 
Tohl,  having  purchased  the  Corwin  farm,  platted  a 
part  of  it.  The  part  first  platted  lay  between  the 
present  Tohl  &  Anderson  store  and  the  Klein  resi- 
dence. Sixteen  blocks  were  laid  out  and  much  of  it 
sold.  It  was  some  distance  from  the  store,  but  in  the 
most  level  part  of  the  farm.  A  little  later,  he  added 
considerably  to  the  tow^n  by  extending  the  plat  to  in- 
clude the  section  now  built  upon  and  along  the  river 
to  the  Todd  place. 

The   growth   of   the    community    soon    demanded 


METROPOLITAN     DAYS         133 

larger  trading  facilities  and  Mr.  Tohl  was  forced  to 
build  a  much  larger  building.  Meanwhile  he  was  not 
having  a  monopoly  of  the  business,  for  Mr.  Wist  was 
doing  some  building  on  his  own  account.  He  con- 
structed a  large  store  building  back  from  the  river 
and  put  in  an  extensive  stock.  This  building  was 
later  destroyed  by  fire  and  never  rebuilt.  Discour- 
aged at  the  result  of  his  store  venture,  Mr.  Wist  built 
a  cannery  at  Upper  Nehalem  and  conducted  it  until  he 
sold  to  the  Elmore  Company  and  moved  to  Tillamook. 

The  post  office  had  been  moved  to  Nehalem  and  the 
lower  town  began  an  era  of  prosperity  that  has  never 
ended.  The  same  year  rivalry  was  again  seen  be- 
tween the  two  places  in  the  work  of  building  saw  mills, 
as  has  been  related  in  another  chaper.  For  a  long  time 
Henry  Tohl  conducted  the  only  store  in  the  valley  and, 
with  the  addition  of  industry,  the  growth  of  Nehalem 
was  steady.  Unlike  many  towns  in  a  new  country, 
Nehalem  has  never  had  a  boom.  Its  development  has 
been  consistent  and  no  attempt  has  been  made  to 
boom  it.  Perhaps  in  this  one  particular,  Nehalem  is 
an  exception.  The  people  interested  in  the  growth 
of  the  city  have  believed  in  its  future,  but  did  not  be- 
lieve in  exaggerated  representations.  The  truth  about 
the  valley  and  the  possibilities  here  is  all  that  will  be 
required  to  show  people  the  opportunities  offered  them. 
For  this  reason  the  history  of  the  city  is  one  to  which 
its  residents  can  point  with  pride.  It  has  met  panics 
and  hard  times  with  a  smile  and  always  emerged  with- 
out a  scar. 

But  the  residents  of  Upper  Nehalem  were  not  in 
the  least  discouraged  by  the  destruction  of  their  store. 
There  was  too  much  of  determination  in  the  make-up 
of  those  people.  They  argued  that  there  was  room 
for  two  centers  of  trade  and  shipping  in  the  valley 
and  they  wanted  their  share.     During  the  following 


134         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

years,  several  buildings  were  built  on  the  river  front 
and  a  hotel,  the  first  built  in  the  valley,  was  con- 
structed by  John  Larsen  in  the  year  1892. 


Community  Life. 

The  Town  of  Nehalem  was  incorporated  by  an  act 
of  the  legislature  of  1899  and  immediately  after  re- 
ceiving its  grant  the  people  held  an  election,  at  which 
Nick  Drostoff,  Jacob  Kamm,  August  Burmester  and 
J.  P.  Munsinger  were  elected  trustees.  At  the  first 
meeting  of  the  board,  J.  P.  Munsinger  was  selected  as 
chairman.  This  was  on  February  20,  1899.  The  in- 
corporation included  only  a  part  of  the  platted  portion 
of  the  town,  but  in  the  year  1912  considerably  more 
territory  was  added.  The  town  incorporation  con- 
tined  in  existence  until  1913,  when  the  voters  decided 
to  change  to  the  more  modern  and  dignified  condition 
of  a  city.  The  election  was  held  in  June  of  that  year 
and  the  last  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
town  was  held  on  June  27,  1913.  At  this  meeting  the 
town  form  of  government  was  abandoned  and  a  mayor 
and  four  councilmen  exercised  the  governing  func- 
tions. 

The  first  mayor  was  Joseph  C.  Smith.  The  council- 
men  selected  were  William  Norris,  W.  L.  Mayer,  H.  W. 
Tohl  and  Ed  Smith.  Dr.  H.  C.  Randle  was  elected  re- 
corder and  F.  A.  LaFlamboy  as  treasurer.  During  that 
year  considerable  improvement  in  the  street  conditions 
of  the  city  were  made  and  other  changes  started. 
Smith  was  followed  as  mayor  by  J.  W.  Thompson 
and  he  by  A.  C.  Andersen,  the  present  incumbent. 
Nehalem  is  "well  located  on  the  north  bank  of  the 


COMMUNITY     LIFE  135 

river  with  excellent  deep  water  facilities  and  well 
sheltered  from  the  storms  of  winter.  It  has  been  a 
trading  center  of  the  valley  from  the  beginning  of  in- 
dustrial development.  Upper  Nehalem,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  center  of  the  lower  city,  is 
a  growing  community,  with  a  general  store  and  a  large 
number  of  residences.  The  salmon  packing  and  can- 
ning plant  of  the  Elmore  Packing  Company  is  located 
here  and,  during  the  fishing  season,  is  a  lively  place. 


Wheeler. 


Possibly  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  the 
whole  story  of  the  industrial  growth  of  the  Nehalem 
valley  is  associated  with  Wheeler.  When  Himpel 
&  Wheeler  selected  the  location  for  their  mill,  they 
chose  the  south  bank  of  the  river  about  two  miles 
from  Nehalem.  Mr.  Himpel  was  a  lumber  manufac- 
turer on  the  Columbia  River  and  conducted  a  mill  at 
Clatskanie.  To  give  the  reader  a  better  idea  of  the 
difficulty  he  encountered  in  transporting  his  manu- 
facturing plant  to  its  new  location  one  should  have  a 
map  of  the  area  drained  by  the  South  Fork  of  the 
Nehalem.  This  stream,  after  its  separation  from  the 
main  river  near  the  present  high  school  location, 
makes  its  way  back  into  the  mountains  in  the  direction 
of  Timber.  At  its  conjunction  with  the  Salmonberry, 
the  South  Fork  takes  a  northerly  course  and  pursues 
a  tortuous  direction  to  within  about  fifteen  miles  of 
Clatskanie.  Here  it  turns  again  to  the  east  and  later 
swings  to  the  south,  making  its  way  to  a  point  near 
Timber.  While  in  a  straight  line  from  the  union  of 
the  South  Fork  and  the  Salmonberry  to  Timber  is  but 
a  few  miles,  it  travels  a  distance  of  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  to  reach  the  point. 


136         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

Mr.  Hinipel  saw  an  opportunity  of  conveying  his 
mill  without  taking  it  the  long  way  down  the  Colum- 
bia, across  the  bar  to  the  ocean  and  down  to  the  Neha- 
lem,  then  dangerous  to  navigation.  The  mill  was  taken 
apart  and  hauled  across  the  low  divide  separating 
Clatskanie  and  the  South  Fork  of  the  river.  Here  it 
was  loaded  on  small  barges  and  floated  the  entire  dis- 
tance to  its  location  at  Wheeler.  The  task  was  not  so 
difficult  as  one  would  naturally  think.  During  the 
high  water,  the  river  raises  considerably  and  offers 
sufficient  water  to  float  a  good-sized  barge.  The  mill 
was  put  together  in  the  year  1895  and  operated.  On 
the  death  of  Mr.  Himpel,  C.  H.  Wheeler  took  over  the 
interest  of  his  partner  and  continued  the  mill  in 
operation  until  it  was  dismantled  to  give  way  to  the 
present  modern  plant,  which  has  a  capacity  of  150,000 
feet  of  finished  lumber  per  day. 

With  the  announcement  of  plans  to  construct  an 
immense  lumber  manufacturing  plant  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old  one  many  people  were  attracted  to 
Wheeler  on  account  of  its  prospects  as  a  manufactur- 
ing center.  The  site  for  a  new  town  was  platted  in 
1913  and  soon  the  place  became  the  scene  of  activity 
such  as  had  never  before  been  seen  in  the  valley. 
Stores  were  built,  houses  sprang  up  in  a  remarkably 
short  time  and  a  modern  hotel  erected.  In  June  of 
that  year  the  population  had  increased  sufficiently  to 
demand  city  regulations  and  it  was  incorporated  as 
the  City  of  Wheeler  during  that  month.  J.  A.  Jensen 
was  elected  as  first  mayor  and  he  was  followed  the 
next  year  by  M.  A.  Hamilton,  who  is  the  present  in- 
cumbent. The  councilmen  elected  were  Sam  Lund- 
berg,  J.  T.  Donovan,  J.  S.  Lundy,  Alex  Anderson,  Jr., 
A.  J.  Zimmerman  and  G.  L.  Archibald.  J.  W.  Short- 
ridge  was  elected  recorder  and  F.  A.  Rowe  as  treasurer. 


OTHER    CENTERS  137 

Other  Centers. 

The  year  1912,  that  in  which  the  railroad  was 
opened  for  operation,  saw  a  revival  in  community  life 
in  the  vallej'.  Townsites  along  the  railroad  were  laid 
out  and  great  activity  manifested.  Early  that  year 
Mohler  was  platted.  Its  location  is  just  above  the 
forks  of  the  Nehalem  River  on  the  south  fork  and 
soon  became  the  trading  center  for  the  ranchers  for 
the  entire  valley  district  along  the  South  Fork  and 
Foley  Creek  and  far  down  the  I\Iiami  River.  A  large 
cheese  factory  is  located  at  this  place  and  many  tons 
of  Nehalem 's  famous  cheese  is  sent  to  the  markets 
from  there  each  month  during  the  spring,  summer 
and  fall  seasons.  There  is  a  modern  general  store 
located  here  under  the  management  of  A.  Finley,  a 
post  office,  restaurant  and  livery. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  only  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  shore  end  of  the  jetty,  is  Brighton. 
This  community  was  laid  out  during  the  same  year. 
A  model  saw  mill  was  erected  here  by  the  Watt 
Brothers  and  has  been  in  operation  most  of  the  time 
since  1913  under  the  supervision  of  Thomas  Watt. 
This  is  one  of  the  mills  that  is  aAvaiting  the  develop- 
ment of  shipping  across  the  bar.  At  the  present  time 
it  is  impossible  to  ship  the  entire  output  of  the  plant 
and  enforced  idleness  is  the  result  of  the  inability  to 
ship  lumber  by  boats.  It  is  expected  that  lumber 
schooners  will  be  crossing  the  bar  before  the  close  of 
the  present  summer. 


Coming  of  the  Railroad. 

The  hope  for  rail  transportation  into  the  valley  was 
not  fully  realized  until  the  fall  of  1912.    The  hopes  and 


138         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

disappointments  of  a  half  century  is  an  interesting 
story  in  itself.  It  is  a  story  of  dogged  persistency  and 
limitless  courage.  It  is  a  story  of  pioneering  of  the 
most  rugged  kind  and  filled  with  discouragements.  For 
a  time  it  looked  as  though  capital  would  not  have  the 
courage  to  attempt  a  passage  over  the  steep  moun- 
tains separating  this  section  from  the  Willamette  Val- 
ley. It  was  an  undertaking  to  puzzle  the  skill  of  the 
best  of  engineers,  but  man  has  proven  by  his  works 
that  nature  cannot  construct  unsurmountable  barriers. 
The  most  puzzling  engineering  difficulties  turn  out  to 
be  easy  when  the  right  man  takes  the  helm  and  guides 
the  onward  march  of  enterprise. 

E.  E.  Lytle  was  well  aware  of  the  Garden  of  Eden 
lying  across  the  mountains  from  Hillsboro.  He  knew 
its  wealth  of  timber,  cheese  and  farm  products.  He 
knew  that  the  secret  of  the  mountain  passes  could  be 
unlocked  and  a  line  built  into  the  valley.  Surveys 
were  discouraging.  They  told  a  story  of  great  cost. 
Tunnels  must  pierce  the  rock-ribbed  mountains ;  num- 
berless bridges  must  be  thrown  across  the  rivers ;  deep 
cuts  through  rock  must  be  made,  and  for  miles  it  was 
a  picture  of  bewildering  expenses.  But  I\Ir.  Lytle  was 
not  a  man  to  be  discouraged  by  things  of  this  kind.  He 
knew  a  wealth  of  business  lay  ahead  for  the  road,  and 
he  sought  capital  with  which  to  build  it.  Tillamook 
County,  with  the  Nehalem  Valley  as  the  first  garden 
of  wealth,  was  the  slogan  of  this  enterprise.  The 
stories  of  wealth  in  the  entire  county  were  such  that 
capital  did  not  hesitate  to  invest. 

As  a  result,  in  1907  work  on  this  road  was  started 
from  Hillsboro.  Gradually  the  band  of  steel  was  ex- 
tended toward  the  Coast  Range  of  mountains,  and  was 
soon  lost  in  the  rugged  recesses.  At  about  the  same 
time  work  was  also  begun  along  the  Nehalem  River 
and  in  the  region  of  Tillamook  Bay.    Mr.  Lytle  stuck 


COMING  OF  THE  RAILROAD  139 

to  the  enterprise  with  the  tenacity  of  one  who  was 
bound  to  win.  After  much  discouragement  and  delay 
the  road  was  finally  pushed  through  the  mountains, 
time  after  time  crossing  and  recrossing  the  Salmon- 
berry  and  South  Fork  of  the  Nehalem  River,  and  was 
connected  with  the  line  down  through  the  Nehalem 
Valley.  The  work  necessitated  the  construction  of 
more  than  a  hundred  bridges  and  boring  eleven  tun- 
nels, some  of  which  were  of  considerable  length.  Many 
times  the  line  crosses  one  of  the  rivers  to  disappear  in 
a  tunnel,  and  emerges  on  the  other  side  to  cross  the 
river  once  more. 

The  route  is  one  of  the  most  scenic  on  the  coast. 
The  rivers  it  follows  are  alive  with  fish,  and  suggest 
delight  to  the  sportsman.  In  places  the  road  is  several 
hundred  feet  above  the  stream  and  the  steep  bank  is 
awe-inspiring,  even  to  those  travelers  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  rugged  mountain  scenes.  Great  forests  of 
giant  timber  are  traversed.  Along  this  road  is  one  of 
the  largest  bodies  of  untouched  timber  on  the  conti- 
nent. Coming  into  the  valley  from  the  mountains  the 
road  winds  along  the  tortuous  course  of  the  South 
Fork  until  it  emerges  from  the  foothills  into  the  widen- 
ing fertility  of  the  valley.  Through  the  valley  it  fol- 
lows the  Nehalem  River  to  its  mouth,  reaching  Tilla- 
mook Bay  by  way  of  Garibaldi  Beach.  The  present 
terminus  is  at  Tillamook,  but  there  are  plans  now  un- 
der consideration  for  extending  it  through  the  county 
to  the  south  and  connecting  further  down  the  coast 
with  other  lines  from  the  interior  of  the  state. 


Nehalem  Beach. 


For  beauty  of  background  and  for  a  wide  sandy 
stretch  of  matchless  beach  there  is  no   place  on  the 


140         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

whole  Pacific  Coast  can  equal  the  ocean  front  of  Ne- 
halem.  The  mountain,  rising  in  easy  terraces  from 
the  water's  edge,  forms  a  background  that  rivals  any 
on  earth.  Somehow  or  other,  nature  carpeted  this 
slope  Avith  eternal  green,  and  the  alluvial  deposits  from 
the  centuries  of  transformation  of  the  mountain  side 
has  built  a  soil  that  can  be  equalled  noAvhere  else  along 
the  ocean.  Gradually  decreasing  in  its  ability  to  sus- 
tain life,  it  finally  ends  in  pure  sand  far  down  the  coast 
line  in  Nehalem  Spit,  a  point  of  land  forming  a  bar- 
rier betAveen  the  ocean  and  Nehalem  Bay.  From  Neah- 
Kah-Nie  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  five  miles  of  broad 
beach.  Differing  from  that  of  other  sections  along  the 
coast,  the  slope  of  the  beach  is  gradual,  and  at  low 
tide  is  several  hundred  feet  in  width.  The  surf  along 
this  beach  is  just  the  right  strength  for  bathing,  and 
hundreds  of  people  delight  in  a  cool  dip  during  the 
continual  pleasant  Aveather  of  summer. 

The  beauty  of  Neah-Kah-Nie  appealed  to  the  first 
settler  in  the  Nehalem  Valley.  John  CraAvford  took 
up  a  claim  along  the  Avater  front  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  Michael  Devlin  folloAved  him  in  1875,  and 
Abner  Seelye  folloAved  early  in  the  eighties.  Later 
the  entire  property  of  these  settlers  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  William  Batterson,  Avho  used  it  as  a  cattle 
range.  It  is  noAV  OAvned  by  S.  G.  Reed,  who  has  built 
a  delightful  summer  hotel  on  the  property  and  is  mak- 
ing it  one  of  the  finest  resorts  on  the  coast.  Golf 
links  have  been  laid  out,  and  the  entire  course  com- 
mands a  magnificent  view  of  the  ocean.  The  grounds 
are  so  laid  that  the  player  begins  his  course  low  down 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain  and  gradually  ascends  it 
until,  at  the  last  hole,  the  elevation  is  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  ocean  and  a  view  for  miles  rewards  the 
player.    Many  who  have  been  over  the  famous  courses 


BEACHES  141 

of  the  country  proclaim  that  at  Neah-Kah-Nie  to  be 
the  finest  they  have  ever  seen. 

To  the  south  of  this  is  Manzanita.  This  property 
was  taken  up  by  George  Dean  early  in  the  seventies. 
It  was  later  purchased  by  E.  H.  Lane,  who  platted  a 
part  of  it  and  opened  Manzanita.  Mr.  Lane  has  made 
a  reputation  by  his  famous  chicken  dinners,  and  many 
visitors  from  all  over  the  county,  and  summer  visitors 
from  other  districts  of  the  state,  make  a  special  effort 
to  visit  the  Lane  Hotel  on  Sundays  and  enjoy  these 
dinners.  A  pleasant  hotel  was  built  here  by  E.  G. 
Nunn,  and  Emil  Kardell  has  built  and  conducts  the 
first  store  ever  opened  on  the  entire  beach.  Still  further 
to  the  south  of  Manzanita  is  Necarney  City,  another 
subdivision  of  the  beach.  Here  is  the  Tent  City  that 
has  made  the  summers  pleasant  for  hundreds  of  people 
from  the  cities  and  valleys  inland  who  were  not  able 
to  build  cottages.  Tent  City  is  now  under  the  owner- 
ship and  management  of  William  Gorman.  Sunset 
Beach  is  the  last  of  the  resorts  in  the  journey  from 
the  mountain  to  the  river.  It  was  one  of  the  first  sec- 
tions of  the  beach  to  be  platted  and  opened  to  settle- 
ment. This  was  done  by  J.  J.  Walter  nearly  twenty 
years  ago. 

Back  a  little  way  from  the  beaches  described  above 
and  on  a  delightful  elevation  is  located  Classic  Ridge. 
This  place  is  of  interest  for  more  reasons  that  one.  It 
was  first  taken  up  by  William  Snyder,  who  owned  it 
until  he  sold  the  property  to  J.  H.  Edwards,  head  of 
the  Oregon  Conservatory  of  Music.  Mr.  Edwards  is 
not  only  musically  inclined,  but  he  favors  literature  as 
well,  lie  has  worked  to  make  this  spot  the  Mecca  of 
those  whose  professions  are  allied  with  these.  It  is  an 
ideal  location.  A  beautiful  lake  occupies  a  depression 
in  about  the  center  of  the  property  and  is  surrounded 
by  gradually  sloping  grounds  on  all  sides.     The  place 


142         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

is  suited  to  the  object  for  which  Mr.  Edwards  selected 
it.  The  visitor  is  surrounded  everywhere  by  environ- 
ments that  stimulate  tlie  mind  to  greatest  activity. 
The  summer  colony  is  quite  extensive. 

Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  reaching  these  resorts, 
the  past  has  not  been  one  of  great  promise,  but  new 
roads  have  been  built  to  them,  and  now  one  can  travel 
from  Portland  to  either  of  the  resorts  in  an  auto  over 
the  excellent  roads.  The  beach  offers  much  to  the  auto 
tourist.  There  are  many  pleasant  trips  to  the  trout 
creeks,  up  the  forks  of  the  river  and  along  the  smooth, 
hard  sands  of  the  shore.  And  to  those  who  spend  their 
summers  here  there  is  nothing  more  delightful  than  an 
evening  on  the  beach  beside  a  roaring  bonfire  made 
from  the  great  quantities  of  logs  and  drift  brought  in 
by  the  tides. 

The  Club  House,  an  attractive  building  nestling  in 
the  growth  of  spruce  some  distance  back  from  the 
ocean  at  Manzanita  Beach,  is  the  center  of  attraction 
for  many  women  of  literary  and  musical  fame  from 
Portland  and  other  Oregon  places.  It  is  under  the 
management  of  Mrs.  Alice  Weister,  of  Portland,  who 
acts  as  hostess.  It  is  distinctively  a  women's  summer 
delight.  Mere  man  has  been  banished,  except  at  some 
of  the  pleasant  programs  given  during  the  summer 
evenings. 


Neah-Kah-Nie  Trail. 

No  more  picturesque  trip  can  be  found  on  the  con- 
tinent than  that  over  Neah-Kah-Nie  Trail  from  Seaside 
into  the  Nehalem  country.  To  the  lover  of  natural 
beauty  nothing  can  compare  with  the  wonderful  view 
suddenly  presented  as  the  traveler  emerges  from  the 


NEAH-KAH-NIE    TRAIL  143 

primeval  forest  at  the  line  dividing  Tillamook  and 
Clatsop  counties.  One  might  well  speak  of  the  trav- 
eler as  weary  after  the  hike  along  the  picturesque 
Cannon  Beach,  through  the  long  stretch  of  forest  and 
over  the  steep  hill  and  down  into  fern-covered  valleys. 
In  sunshine  or  in  storm  the  trail  is  one  of  exceptional 
changes  and  wonderful  in  the  kaleidoscopic  variety. 
It  is  dangerous,  too,  during  the  winter  season  when 
the  winds  from  the  ocean  sweep  the  barren  face  of  the 
mountain  in  pitiless  fury.  The  danger  of  the  trip 
during  this  season  is  not  alone  confined  to  the  moun- 
tain side,  but  back  along  the  beach  are  spots  where 
the  surf  breaks  upon  the  rocks  like  the  hand  of  fate 
reaching  for  another  victim.  One  not  familiar  with 
the  tides  and  the  dangers  of  the  trail  would  do  well 
to  pause  before  attempting  the  passage  alone. 

During  this  season  it  is  dangerous  even  to  the  ex- 
perienced. The  story  of  the  trials  of  the  mail  carriers 
is  one  replete  with  sensational  escapes  and  nerve-test- 
ing encounters.  Although  there  have  been  many  very 
narrow  calls  from  the  deep,  not  a  single  life  has  been 
lost,  a  fact  that  testifies  to  the  caution  employed  by 
those  with  whom  the  government  entrusted  its  mails. 
Horses  have  been  lost  or  washed  from  the  narrow 
ledges  of  rock  leading  around  the  points,  but  man  has 
learned  a  lesson  of  caution  from  the  powerful  breakers 
dashing  upon  the  exposed  places.  Elk  Creek,  just 
north  of  Cannon  Beach,  was  a  treacherous  barrier  in 
the  path  following  the  heavy  rains  of  winter.  The 
freshets  swelled  it  beyond  its  banks,  and  in  the  days 
before  bridges,  and  when  it  was  necessary  to  ford,  it 
took  men  of  courage  and  carefulness  to  guide  a  stage 
to  the  opposite  bank.  Once  one  of  the  most  cautious 
drivers  along  the  entire  beach  lost  a  team  during  the 
high  water  period  when  trying  to  make  the  ford,  and  it 


144         STORIES     OF     NEHALEM 

was  only  by  a  remarkable  test  of  strength  that  he  was 
able  to  save  himself. 

Below  Cannon  Beach  is  Hug  Point  and  Arch  Cape, 
which  have  their  stories  of  experiences.  It  was  at 
these  places  where  the  mail  carriers  found  their  great- 
est dangers.  They  usually  planned  to  reach  here  at 
low  tide,  but  when  the  gales  of  winter  drove  great 
waves  onto  the  rocks  neither  stage  of  the  tide  offered 
much  chance  for  frail  man.  Though  the  tide  may  be 
low,  one  cannot  make  the  passage  around  them  with- 
out receiving  a  baptism  of  spray  and  a  thorough  soak- 
ing. After  leaving  these  places  the  trail  is  a  con- 
tinuance of  unpleasantries.  Pitching  into  the  forest, 
one  finds  the  trees  laden  with  rain,  and  it  does  not 
take  many  minutes  to  complete  the  drenching  of  every 
article  of  clothing.  The  trail  is  narrow  through  the 
forest,  and  the  winter  rains  fill  it  with  deep  and 
sticky  mud.  This  heavy  condition  lasts  until  late  in 
the  spring  each  year  owing  to  the  thick  foliage  over- 
head, which  shuts  out  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  makes 
the  process  of  drying  long  and  tedious. 

Even  after  leaving  the  forest  the  relief  from  mud 
is  unappreciated,  as  the  gales  from  off  the  ocean  have 
been  shut  out  by  the  envelope  of  trees,  but  now  sweep 
in  all  their  fury.  No  one  can  realize  how  hard  the 
wind  can  blow  unless  they  have  tried  the  trip  around 
Neah-Kah-Nie  when  nature  has  worked  one  of  its 
southwesters  up  to  the  real  point.  The  unprotected 
mountainside  becomes  the  playground  of  gust  after 
gust  of  wind,  beating  the  traveler  on  all  sides  and 
making  the  progress  unsafe  and  uncertain. 

One  woman,  who  made  the  trip  across  during  the 
stormiest  period  of  winter,  when  asked  which  was  the 
worst  place  along  the  trail,  replied,  "It  was  all  worst." 

But  this  is  a  picture  of  the  trail  at  its  worst,  during 
the  winter,  when  all  trails  have  their  natural  disad- 


NEAH-KAH-NIE    TRAIL  145 

vantages  and  dangers.  It  is  a  different  story  than  the 
one  told  by  those  who  have  made  the  trip  during  the 
summer.  It  is  at  this  season  when  the  lover  of  nature 
pauses  at  the  new  scenes  constantly  presented;  it  is 
at  this  time  when  the  tongue  or  the  pen  fail  to  aptly 
express  all  the  mind  desires  to  convey.  It  is  a  pano- 
rama of  indescribable  beauty  and  grandeur,  the  su- 
premacy of  nature's  handiwork.  There  is  no  scene  on 
earth  so  awe-inspiring  as  that  when,  tired  from  the 
long  trip  through  the  forest,  one  suddenly  emerges 
from  the  trees  into  the  open  of  the  mountain  side,  and 
there  breaks  into  view  that  magnificent  stretch  of 
ocean.  Making  the  trip  for  the  first  time,  one  finds  the 
forest  path  growing  monotonous  as  the  steep  places 
tire  the  muscles  after  the  long  walk  down  the  beach. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  first  impression.  It  seemed 
that  I  had  walked  for  miles  and  miles;  the  beautiful 
variations  of  forest  scenery  were  becoming  tiresome ; 
the  lack  of  provisions  was  emphasized  when  the  meal 
eaten  at  Arch  Cape  became  only  a  memory.  As  I 
trudged  along,  now  tired  and  hungry,  I  began  to  think 
I  had  missed  the  directions  given  me  by  the  hotel 
keeper  at  the  Cape  and  was  making  my  way  into  an 
impenetrable  forest.  Then  fear  combined  with  the 
pangs  of  hunger  to  increase  my  apprehensions.  The 
question  arose  in  my  mind  whether  I  was  actually  fol- 
lowing the  trail  to  Nehalem  or  whether  I  would  eventu- 
ally come  to  civilization  somewhere  in  California,  for 
it  seemed  I  had  walked  that  far.  It  was  not  the  fault 
of  the  trail,  but  my  own,  for  I  had  not  properly  esti- 
mated the  ability  of  the  last  meal  to  sustain  me  until 
the  end  of  the  journey.  I  do  not  believe  I  could  ever 
describe  the  sensations  of  the  trip. 

Just  ahead  of  me  appeared  an  opening  in  the  trees 
marking  the  end  of  the  forest.  Suddenly,  as  though 
nature  had  planned  the  scene  as  a  payment  for  the 


146         STORIES     OF    NEHALEM 

penalty  of  the  trail  behind,  the  bald  head  of  Neah- 
Kah-Nie  came  into  view,  and  then  that  grandest  of  all 
scenes,  the  mighty  ocean,  as  calm  and  as  placid  as  a 
glass,  lying  at  its  feet.  I  paused  in  wonder  and  admi- 
ration. The  feeling  of  hunger  was  forgotten ;  the  tired 
muscles  no  longer  affected ;  the  disgust  and  dishearten- 
ing experiences  became  things  of  the  past.  All  were 
lost  as  I  stood  speechless,  drinking  in  the  beauty  of  the 
scene  ahead.  I  sat  upon  a  log  beside  the  trail,  and  in 
the  shadow^  of  a  giant  spruce,  eating  and  drinking  my 
fill  from  the  great  cup  of  grandeur  before  me.  It 
did  not  end  here,  however.  A  little  farther  on  new 
scenic  beauties  were  revealed.  Just  as  I  came  to  the 
place  where  the  trail  tips  over  the  summit  and  starts 
on  down  to  the  valley,  another  of  those  matchless  pano- 
ramas spread  out  for  miles  ahead,  showing  a  stretch  of 
beach  reaching  to  the  Nehalem  River  and  over  beyond 
it,  on  and  on,  until  the  ribbon  of  white  sand  was  finally 
tapered  to  nothing.  It  is  a  scene  ending  where  the 
great  mountain,  far  to  the  south,  encroaches  on  the 
ocean  and  marks  the  southern  boundary  of  the  county. 
On  the  left  is  the  valley  with  the  river,  a  silver  ribbon 
set  in  a  mass  of  forest  green.  To  the  right  is  the  ocean, 
grander  and  more  beautiful  when  viewed  from  this 
elevation.  I  am  only  telling  the  story;  I  cannot  de- 
scribe the  scene,  and  time  is  awaiting  the  one  who 
justly  can. 

Hundreds  of  people  use  this  trail  during  the  sum- 
mer. They  much  prefer  the  delights  of  this  enchanting 
walk  to  any  other  means  of  reaching  the  queen  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  scenery  which  surrounds  the  Nehalem 
Valley.  The  trail  is  the  same  followed  by  the  Indians 
for  centuries  on  their  visits  to  their  friends  at  Seaside 
and  Skipanon.  It  was  well  worn  into  the  side  of  the 
mountain :  thousands  of  moccasined  feet  had  made  it. 
It  will  ever  be  the  favorite  of  those  loving  the  beauties 


NEAH-KAH-NIE    TRAIL  147 

of  nature,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  an  auto- 
mobile road  will  lead  around  the  brow  of  the  sightly 
eminence.  Some  day,  too,  someone  will  come  who  has 
power  to  place  upon  canvas  these  unsurpassed  scenes; 
someone  will  come  who  can  describe  them  in  the  lan- 
guage that  has  failed  all  those  before. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


APR  11  ^^ 


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AA    000  527  379    2 


